^^^ix^^'^f^^^^ 


4?0tO6IC\L  S£* 


BX9223  .M32  1895 
Maccumi,  Florence  A. 
John  Knox  / 


JOHN   KNOX 


JOHN      KNOX. 


JOHN    KNOX 


EY 

FLORENCE  A.'mACCUNN 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 
HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  AND  COMPANY 

1895 


CONTENTS 


CHAP. 

I.  THE  FIRST  FORTY  YEARS  ... 

II.  IN  ENGLAND 

III.  ENGLISH   FRIENDS 

IV.  ON   THE   CONTINENT    (1554 — 1555) 
V.  SCOTLAND   (1555 — 1556)  ... 

VI.  KNOX's    POLITICAL   WRITINGS 

VII.  BEGINNING    OF    THE    CIVIL    WAR    IN    SCOTLAND 

VIII.  CIVIL   WAR    IN   SCOTLAND  (1559 — 1560) 

IX.  END   OF   THE   CIVIL   WAR    (1559 — 1560) 

X.  THE   CONFESSION   OF    FAITH 

XI,  THE   BOOK   OF    DISCIPLINE    AND    THE    BOOK    OF 

COMMON   ORDER 

XII.  RETURN    OP    MARY   STUART  (1561)    ... 

XIII.  KNOX's   FIRST   INTERVIEW   WITH    MARY 

XIV.  LIFE   IN   THE    NETHERBOW 

XV.  KNOX   AND   HIS   CATHOLIC   OPPONENTS 

XVI.  KNOX   AND   THE   COURT    (1563 — 1564) 

XVII.  KNOX   AND    MAITLAND   OF    LETHINGTON 


PAas 
1 

13 
24 
30 
39 
49 
58 
68 
79 
89 

96 
109 
117 
124 
132 
142 
152 


VI 


CONTENTS 


CHAP. 

XVIII.  THE   TRIUMPH   OF   THE   UNGODLY       ... 

XIX,  THE   GENERAL   FAST    (mARCH    1566) 

XX.  FALL   OF    MARY    (1567)      ... 

XXI.  Moray's  regency  (1567 — 1570)  ... 

XXII.  KNOX   AND    KIRKCALDY   OF   GRANGE 

XXIII.  ST.    ANDREWS    (1571 — 1572) 

XXIV.  THE   END    (1572) 


PAGE 

163 
170 
178 
189 
198 
207 
218 


The  writer  desires  to  express  her  thanks  to  Mr.  John 
Smith  of  the  University  Library,  St.  Andrews; 
and  more  especially  to  Mr.  Andrew  Lang  for 
valued  assistance  in  the  revision  of  the  proofs  of 
the  following  pages. 


JOHN   KNOX. 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE   FIRST   FORTY   YEARS. 

Perhaps  the  most  singular  fact  in  the  life  of  Knox 
is  the  unbroken  silence  of  the  first  forty  years.  He, 
who  was  the  most  explicit  of  men  in  all  that  related 
to  himself,  never  referred  to  his  early  life  except  in 
some  such  short,  uneasy  allusion  as  "the  time  spent 
in  the  puddle  of  Papistry."  Shame  probably  kept  him 
silent.  What  we  know  from  other  sources  is  little 
enough.  He  was  born  probably  near  Haddington  in 
the  year  1505.  Unlike  most  of  his  countrymen,  of 
whom  Erasmus  remarks  that  they  all  claimed  to  be 
of  noble  birth,  Knox  was  content  to  ^describe  himself 
as  "a  man  of  base  estate  and  condition."  His  name 
occurs  in  the  student  lists  of  Glasgow  College  for  the 
year  1522,  but  is  absent  from  the  list  of  those  who  took 
their  degree.  The  famous  John  Major  was  lecturing 
in  Glasgow  in  those  years ;  and  it  is  possible  that  the 
strong  democratic  convictions  and  contempt  for  con- 
ventional authorities  which  Knox  shared  with  Major's 
other  pupil  Buchanan,  may  have  been  instilled  into 


S  JOHN  KNOX 

tliem  as  students  in  the  class-room  at  Glasgow.  Pos- 
sibly also  Knox's  later  habit  of  scornfully  thrusting 
aside  his  adversaries'  logic  may  have  been  formed 
while  he  listened,  with  impatience,  to  Major's  endless 
scholastic  subtleties.  It  is  certain  that  Knox  was  in 
minor  orders.  His  Catholic  adversaries  used  to  taunt 
him  with  having  been  one  of  the  "Pope's  Knights," 
and  with  having  received  orders  "  by  which  ye  were 
umquhile  called  Sir  John."  The  tradition  followed  by 
Beza  describes  him  as  a  lecturer  in  subtlest  dialectics 
at  St.  Andrews,  and  as  later  renouncing  scholastic 
theology  for  the  study  of  Jerome  and  Augustine.  Of 
evidence  for  this  tradition  there  is  no  trace  in  any 
written  record.  On  the  contrary,  the  only  documentary 
evidence  we  have  is  the  name  of  "Sir  John  Knox" 
appended  to  two  or  three  notarial  papers,  which  show 
that,  between  the  years  1540  and  1543,  Knox  was 
deciding  the  value  of  chalders  of  victual  and  drawing 
uj)  law  papers  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Haddington. 

During  these  long  years  of  obscurity,  Knox  may  have 
been  silently  gathering  evidence  of  those  scandals  and 
abuses  in  the  Church  which  he  relates  with  such  relish 
in  his  History.  Gross  and  grotesque  as  are  the  charges 
of  profligacy  which  he  brings  against  the  prelates,  they 
are  borne  out  by  the  admissions  made  in  all  severe 
sobriety  by  one  Provincial  Assembly  of  the  Church  after 
the  other.  If  Knox  stigmatizes  indolent  and  worldly 
bishops  as  "  idle  bellies  "  and  "  dumb  dogs,"  the  Catholic 
apologist,  Quintin  Kennedy,  describes,  with  a  satire  as 
pungent  though  more  delicate,  the  system  by  which  bene- 
fices were  filled.  "  And  when  they — i.  c.  grasping  noble- 
men— have  gotten  a  benefice,  if  they  have  a  brother  or 
son  who  can  neither  sing  nor  say,  nourished  in  vice  all 


THE  FIRST  FORTY  YEARS  3 

his  days,  he  shall  be  immediately  mounted  on  a  mule, 
with  a  side-gown  and  a  round  bonnet,  and  then  it  is  a 
question  whether  he  or  his  mule  know  best  to  do  his 
office."  Among  prelates  elected  in  this  manner,  it  was 
no  wonder  that  some  were  like  the  Bishop  of  Dunkeld, 
who  "  thanked  God  that  he  knew  neither  the  Old  nor 
New  Testament." 

Living  in  a  country  parish,  Knox  must  have  seen 
with  his  own  eyes  the  greed,  ignorance  and  licentious- 
ness of  the  smaller  clergy.  In  Haddington,  as  in  other 
parts  of  Scotland,  priests  made  a  trade  of  their  office, 
turning  once  again  the  House  of  God  into  a  den 
of  thieves.  "Teinds,"  a  tax  levied  by  the  Church  on 
all  agricultural  produce,  weighed  heavily  on  peasants 
already  ground  down  by  the  feudal  dues  of  the  land- 
owners. "  They  two  (i.  c.  churchman  and  noble)  live  by 
me,"  says  the  peasant  in  the  Complaynt  of  Scotland, 
"and  I  die  by  them."  The  tyranny  of  the  Churchmen 
seems  to  have  rankled  most  deeply — 

"  Our  parson  here,  lie  takes  no  otlier  pyne  (pain), 
But  to  receive  his  teind  and  spend  it  syne. 
Though  they  should  want  preaching  seventeen  year, 
Our  parson  will  nut  want  one  sheaf  of  bear  "  (barley). 

Against  the  neglect  and  oppression  of  the  Church,  the 
poor  had  only  the  last  ineffectual  weapons  of  contempt 
and  derision.  The  people  ceased  to  attend  the  services, 
"they  so  lightlied  the  Mass"  that  priests  complained 
that  there  was  no  longer  a  living  to  be  made  out  of 
it.  "  Cursing "  (excommunication) — once  the  awful 
severance  of  a  sinful  soul  from  the  Church's  charity 
and  the  mercy  of  God — became  a  jest  and  mockery 
to  peasants  as  they  sat  drinking  together  at  the  tavern. 


4  JOHN  KNOX 

But  the  Cliurch,  though  she  was  losing  all  hold  on  the 
people,  was  politically  strong  in  the  reign  of  James  V 
(1513—1542).  The  pupil  of  Sir  David  Lindsay,  and 
himself  a  man  of  shrewdness  and  experience,  the  King 
could  not  shut  his  eyes  to  flagrant  abuses.  But  though 
he  might  at  times  threaten  the  Churchmen,  he  knew, 
and  they  knew,  that  he  was  entirely  dependent  on  their 
support.  From  the  time  he  had  escaped  from  the 
hated  tutelage  of  the  Douglases,  he  had  tried  systematic- 
ally to  abase  the  Nobility,  and  had  filled  all  offices  with 
Churchmen,  Avho  indeed,  by  their  greater  learning  and 
knowledge  of  the  world,  were  more  fitted  to  discharge 
public  duties  than  ignorant  and  violent  noblemen.  Of 
these  ecclesiastical  politicians,  the  ablest  and  most 
consjjicuous  was  Cardinal  Beaton.  Under  his  influence 
James  leaned  more  and  more  to  a  French  alliance,  and 
resisted  the  persuasions  of  his  uncle,  Henry  VIII,  to 
follow  his  example  and  at  once  reform  the  lives  of  the 
Churchmen,  and  fill  his  own  coffers  with  their  wealth. 
Foiled  in  his  attempt  to  influence  his  nephew,  Henry 
was  secretly  busy  making  allies  of  the  discontented 
Scotch  Nobility.  Many  of  the  more  needy  and  un- 
scrupulous of  these  were  in  his  pay. 

But  there  was  another  section  of  the  Scottish  people 
who  also  favoured  a  close  alliance  with  England. 
After  Henry's  breach  with  Home,  this  party  looked 
to  the  English  King  for  aid  in  carrying  out  rehgious 
reform  in  their  own  country.  Conspicuous  among  these 
friends  of  England  were  a  group  of  East  Lothian 
gentlemen,  the  Laird  of  Brunston,  Cockburn  of  Ormiston, 
and  Hugh  Douglas  of  Long  Niddry.  Of  t.hese  the  first 
w^as  a  paid  agent  of  the  English  King  during  the  years 
that  followed  the  death  of  James  V  (1543-4G),  and  was 


THE  FIRST  FORTY  YEARS  5 

deeply  involved  in  a  plot  to  murder  Cardinal  Beaton. 
During  these  same  years  John  Knox  was  tutor  in  the 
household  of  Douglas  of  Long  Niddry,  and  numbered 
also  some  of  the  young  Cockburns  among  his  pupils. 
That  he  was  the  chosen  associate  of  such  men  shows 
clearly  what  were  his  religious  and  political  opinions. 
During  the  years  when  Knox  was  quiescent  and 
passive,  the  new  doctrines  had  spread  secretly  in  Scot- 
land, partly  through  "  the  English  books,"  which  were 
surreptitiously  imported  and  read,  partly  through 
merchants  and  mariners  who  brought  the  new  ideas 
from  abroad,  but  chiefly  through  the  heroic  constancy 
of  those  who  died  for  their  faith.  The  list  of  martyrs 
is  after  all  small,  but  it  included  several  men  of  singular 
devoutness  and  attractiveness  of  character.  The  first 
of  these  was  Mr.  Patrick  Hamilton.^  Gently  born,  but 
contemning  the  world  and  its  advantages,  endowed 
with  princely  wit  but  still  more  inflamed  Avith  godliness, 
he  was  learned  in  philosophy  and  eager  to  restore  the 
pure  text  of  Ai'istotle  to  the  schools;  but  still  more 
intent  on  making  plain  to  the  unlearned  the  Gospel,  as 
he  had  received  it  from  Luther  and  Melancthon.  He  was 
only  twenty-four  years  old  when  he  was  burned  at  St. 
Andrews  in  1528.  The  "reek  which  blew  from  Patrick 
Hamilton,"  infecting  so  many  with  his  heresies,  seems 
to   have  left   Knox  unaffected.     It  was   probably  two 

^  Hamilton  had  himself  been  endowed  as  a  child  with  the 
wealthy  Abbacy  of  Feme.  Dying  at  twenty-four,  while  there 
was  yet  no  question  of  practical  reform,  it  is  impossible  to 
pronounce  wbat  his  action  would  have  been  with  regard  to  the 
profitable  corruption  of  the  Church,  but  it  is  difficult  to  believe 
that  self-interest  would  have  weighed  with  a  spirit  as  pure  anil 
ardent  as  his. 


v/ 


6  JOHN  KNOX 

years  later  in  1530  that  he  received  minor  orders.  For 
the  next  seventeen  years  he  was  content  to  adjudge 
chalders  of  victual,  to  teach  children  their  grammar, 
and  to  read  the  Fathers  in  his  closet;  while  simple 
country  gentlemen,  unlettered  craftsmen,  single-minded 
parish  priests  were  going  into  "  the  Kingdom  "  before 
him.  In  1538  a  young  school-master,  George  Wishart, 
was  forced  to  fly  to  England  to  escape  persecution  for 
teaching  the  New  Testament  in  Greek.  He  spent  six 
years  between  Germany,  Switzerland,  and  Cambridge, 
and  returned  to  Scotland  either  in  1543  or  1544.  His 
tall,  ascetic  figure,  in  its  fustian  cloak,  recalled  the  first 
brothers  of  the  Preaching  Orders.  Like  them,  he 
strove  by  meekness  and  patience,  by  nights  spent  in 
prayer,  and  by  constant  charity  to  the  poor,  to  imitate 
literally  the  life  of  Jesus.  He  had  had  moments  of  weak- 
ness, as  when  at  Bristol  he  had  "burned  his  faggot"  in 
sign  of  public  recantation ;  the  calm  fearlessness  with 
which  he  afterwards  met  persecution  and  death  had  been 
gained  only  after  lonely  hours  of  prayer  and  tears  and 
pleadings  with  Almighty  God.  The  plague  was  raging 
at  Dundee  in  the  summer  of  1545 ;  he  preached  to  the 
stricken  in  the  open  street,  and  passed  in  and  out 
among  them  ministering  to  their  needs.  When  a 
monk,  suborned  by  the  Cardinal,  attempted  to  murder 
him,  his  one  anxiety  was  to  save  the  assassin  from  the 
anger  of  the  crowd.  If  Cardinal  Beaton  was  a  relent- 
less  persecutor,  he  was  moved  less  by  religious  con- 
victions than  an  anxious  jealousy  over  the  vested 
interests  of  the  Church.  In  Wishart's  case,  political 
motives  added  to  his  animosity.  In  the  preacher  and 
his  friends  he  saw,  not  without  reason,  the  secret  allies 
of  England.  e. 


THE   FIRST  FORTY  YEARS  7 

lu  the  end  of  the  year  1545,  Beaton's  enmity  was 
drawing  a  close  net  round  Wishart,  and  many  who  had 
at  first  resorted  to  him  began  to  stand  aloof.  Wounded 
in  spirit  and  full  of  foreboding,  he  continued  the  more 
earnestly  to  use  what  time  remained  to  him  in  preach- 
ing. "  In  those  days,  that  are  called  the  Holy  days  of 
Yule,"  he  came  into  East  Lothian  and  stayed  in  turn 
in  the  households  of  Brunston,  Orrniston  and  Long 
Niddry. 

There  was  no  dogma  of  the  Church  of  Rome  for  which 
Knox  in  after  days  felt  more  contempt  than  that  of 
Apostolic  Succession.   There  is  no  more  striking  instance 
of  the   real   Apostolic   Succession   than   this   meeting 
between  him  and  Wishart  at  Long  Niddry.    Convictions 
that  had  been  slowly  forming  in  Knox's  mind  were  quick-  y 
ened  into  life  by  the  touch  of  Wishart's  pure  and  fervent  "^ 
spirit.     The   preacher   was   in   that    intense    state   of 
feeling   when   insight   becomes   prophetic   vision.     He 
saw,  as  no  one  else  had  done,  latent  power  and  passion 
in  the  dark,  rugged-faced  man  of  forty.     To  this  new 
disciple   he  unburdened   the  sorrows  and   fears  which 
else  found  expression  only  in  his  nightly  prayers.    Once, 
in  the  Abbey  of  Haddington,  Knox  watched  him  walking 
up  and  down  behind  the  high  altar,  with  troubled  coun- 
tenance.    He  called  Knox  to  him  and  told  him  that 
"  he  wearied  of  the  world  because  he  perceived  that  men  ^ 
began  to  weary  of  God."     After  the  sermon,  lie  took 
farewell  of  his  friends  as  if  for  the  last  time,     Knox  \   / 
had  made  himself  attendant  and  body-guard  to  Wishart,  ' 
marching  in  front  of  him  with  a  two-handed  sword,  and 
now  he  pressed  to  be  allowed  to  return  with  him  to 
the  House  of  Ormiston,  but  Wishart  put  him  gently 
by,  sayijig,  "  Nay,  return  to  your  bairns;  one  is  sufficient 


8  JOHN  KNOX 

for  a  sacrifice."  "  God  grant  good  rest,"  he  said,  as  lie 
withdrew  tliat  niglit  to  liis  own  room.  At  midnight 
the  house  was  surrounded  by  armed  men,  and  he, 
yielding  himself  a  prisoner,  was  delivered  into  the  hands 
of  the  Cardinal.  The  gentlest  and  most  reverent  pages 
of  all  Knox's  History  are  those  in  which  he  tells  of  the 
courage  of  George  Wishart  at  his  trial  and  his  constancy 
in  the  hour  of  death.  For  him  alone  of  all  the  men  he 
ever  knew  Knox  seems  to  have  had  the  feeling  of  a 
disciple  for  a  master. 

Wishart  was  not  long  unavenged.  There  had  long 
been  a  plot  on  foot  to  take  the  Cardinal  prisoner  and 
deliver  him  to  Henry  VIII,  alive  or  dead.  It  had 
been  originally  contrived  by  paid  agents  of  England, 
but  sorrow  and  anger  for  Wishart's  death  secured  the 
approval  and  connivance  of  men  of  very  different 
character.  Early  on  the  29th  of  May,  while  the 
Cardinal  still  slept  in  his  chamber,  the  Castle  of  St. 
Andrews  was  forcibly  entered  by  a  body  of  armed  men 
led  by  Melville  of  Raith,  a  grave  and  religious  gentle- 
man of  Fife,  William  Kirkcaldy,  younger,  of  Grange, 
and  by  John  and  Norman  Leslie,  personal  enemies  of 
the  Cardinal.  They  burst  open  the  door  of  his  private 
room,  and  found  him  helpless  and  unarmed.  "  I  am  a 
priest,  ye  will  not  slay  me,"  he  cried  Avith  despairing- 
reiteration,  but  even  as  he  pled  for  mercy  he  Avas  struck 
down  on  his  own  hearth,  his  murderers  sternly  bidding 
him  repent  his  sins,  especially  the  death  of  "that 
notable  instrument  of  God,  Maister  George  Wishart." 

The  well-built,  sea-girt  Castle  to  which  Beaton  had 
trusted  so  blindly  now  became  the  stronghold  whence 
his  enemies  for  fifteen  months  defied  the  intermittent 
attempts   of    the    Eegent    Arran    to    dislodge    them. 


THE   FIRST  FORTY  YEARS  9 

Thither  resorted  all  those  who,  in  Pitscottie's  curious 
phrase,  "suspected  themselves  to  be  guilty  of  the  said 
slaughter."  The  political  significance  of  the  murder  can 
be  judged  by  the  fact,  that  amongst  the  number  were 
the  veteran  statesman,  Sir  David  Lindsay,  the  elder 
Laird  of  Grange,  and  the  eminent  lawyer  Henry 
Balnaves.  In  spite  of  the  weight  of  these  elder  men, 
the  garrison  was  a  wild  and  lawless  band.  In  the 
intervals  of  the  siege,  they  passed  freely  up  and  down 
the  little  town,  and,  in  their  hour  of  reckless  triumph, 
plundered  and  distressed  the  country-side.  They  in- 
clined, however,  to  the  Reformed  doctrines,  and  a 
certain  John  Rough  became  their  chaplain.  At  Easter 
(April  10,  1547),  Knox  arrived  in  the  Castle  with 
three  of  his  pupils.  He  had  been  a  marked  man  since 
Wishart's  death,  and,  wearied  of  passing  from  one 
hiding-place  to  another,  he  had  desired  to  go  to 
Germany;  but  the  fathers  of  his  pupils  had  been 
earnest  with  him  to  continue  the  education  of  their 
sons,  and  had  sent  him  and  them  to  the  Castle  of  St. 
Andrews  as  to  a  place  of  safety.  It  was  a  strange 
place  for  such  a  purpose.  Already  the  fortress,  crowded 
to  excess,  was  scourged  with  sickness ;  lawless  men-at- 
arms  were  the  comrades  of  the  boys  and  their  tutor; 
and  it  was  from  the  gossip  of  the  guard-room  that 
Knox  probably  learned  the  ghastly  circumstances  of  the 
Cardinal's  death,  and  the  disgusting  details  of  his  burial 
which  he  retails  in  his  History  with  savage  merriment. 
Sir  David  Lindsay  and  Henry  Balnaves  had  shrewd 
eyes  for  the  qualities  of  men.  They  had  listened  to 
Knox  catechizing  his  pupils  and  expounding  the  Gospel 
to  them.  It  was  resolved  that  he  should  be  constrained 
to  accept  the  office  of  preacher.    Upon  a  certain  Sunday, 


10  JOHN  KNOX 

I  Rough  discoursed  "  in  the  pubHc  preaching  place  "  on 
I  the  election  of  ministers ;  and  at  the  end  of  the  sermon 

1 1  he  suddenly  turned  directly  to  where  Knox  was  sitting, 
land  charged  him  in  the  name  of  the  congregation  then 
'present,  that  he  should  not  refuse  the  holy  vocation  of 
the  Ministry.  Then,  addressing  the  people,  he  said, 
"  Was  not  this  your  charge  to  me  ? "  With  one  voice 
they  answered,  "  It  was ;  and  we  approve  it."  To  Knox 
this  call  was  as  irresistible  as  the  voice  of  God  Himself, 
but  like  Jeremiah  of  old  his  spirit  shrank  from  the 
burden  suddenly  laid  upon  it.  "  Whereat,"  he  tells  us, 
"  the  said  John,  abashed,  burst  forth  in  most  abundant 
tears  and  withdrew  himself  to  his  chamber." 

But  the  call  once  accepted,  Knox  laid  aside  fear  and 
misgivings  for  ever.  His  first  sermon,  preached  in  the 
Parish  Church  before  the  University,  the  garrison,  the 
townspeople  and  an  angry  body  of  monks  and  priests, 
was  a  direct  challenge  to  the  Romish  Church.  From 
Daniel,  from  St.  Paul,  from  the  Apocalypse  he  had 
gathered  the  images  of  "  the  great  Beast,"  the  "  Anti- 
christ," the  "  Man  of  Sin,"  the  "  Babylonian  Harlot  " ; 
these  he  applied  to  the  Popes  and  "  all  the  shavelings," 
tearing  open  their  lives,  denouncing  their  doctrines, 
deriding  their  idolatry.  To  us  these  images  may 
smack  of  conventional  caricature  ;  they  were  startlingly 
new  and  apt  to  a  congregation  who  had  read  neither 
St.  Paul  nor  Daniel,  and  who  had  long  regarded  the 
Churchmen  with  sullen  hostility.  They  greeted  Knox's 
audacity  with  acclamation.  "  Others,"  said  they,  "  hewed 
the  branches  of  the  Papistry,  but  this  man  strikes  at 

*^   the  root." 

For  their  own  credit  the  Churchmen  at  St.  Andrews 
could  not  let  such  a  challenge  pass  unanswered.     The 


THE  FIRST  FORTY  YEARS  11 

chief  ecclesiastic,  Dean  Winram,  himself  secretly  inclined 
to  the  new  doctrines,  prudently  left  the  dispute  to  the 
friars,  to  whom  Knox  submitted  a  list  of  the  abuses  of 
the  Romish  Church. 

From  this  dispute  it  is  clear  that  Knox  had  already 
reached  the  dogmatic  position  from  which  he  never 
afterwards  moved.  In  Hamilton  and  Wishart  the  new 
teaching  had  been  a  quickening  spirit;  in  Knox  the 
same  spirit  had  taken  body  in  a  theological  system. 
Perhaps  it  was  all  the  more  serviceable  in  that  shape* 
both  as  a  weapon  of  defence  and  as  a  standard  round 
which  men  might  rally. 

In  June  Knox  administered  the  Sacrament  after 
the  reformed  manner  to  over  two  hundred  people  in 
the  Parish  Church,  Only  once  before  had  the  Lord's 
Supper  been  celebrated  in  this  form  in  Scotland.  On 
the  day  on  which  he  suffered,  George  Wishart,  sitting 
at  breakfast  with  his  gaoler,  had  used  that  simple  meal 
as  a  Sacrament,  and  had  blessed  the  food  and  given  it 
to  all  present. 

In  the  same  month  the  Government  tried  to  bribe  the 
garrison  to  surrender  with  the  Pope's  pardon  for  the 
murder.  Rome  was  already  mistress  of  the  casuistry 
that  was  to  become  her  chief  reproach.  "Remittimus 
irremissibile  "  ran  the  pardon  ;  a  sophistry  hardly  likely 
to  deceive  a  lawyer  like  Balnaves  or  a  statesman  like 
Lindsay.  The  garrison  hoped  to  be  able  to  prolong 
the  time  till  help  could  arrive  from  England. 

But  the  Regent  had  a  stronger  ally  than  Rome 
and  her  casuistries.  On  the  last  day  of  June,  a  fleet  of 
French  galleys  suddenly  appeared  in  St.  Andrews  Bay, 
bringing  soldiers  and  heavy  cannon.  For  a  month  the 
garrison  braved  it  out.     They  bragged  of  the  thickness 


12  .lOHN   KNOX 

of  their  walls ;  Knox  assured  them  "  tliey  sliould  be 
but  egg-shells."  They  boasted,  "England  will  rescue 
us;"  and  he  retorted,  "Ye  shall  not  see  them,  but  ye 
shall  be  delivered  into  your  enemy's  hands,  and  shall 
be  carried  to  a  strange  country."  Recording  these 
words  years  afterwards  in  his  History,  Knox  put  in 
prophetic  shape  Avhat  was  at  the  time  the  simple 
deduction  of  a  shrewd  judgment  from  obvious  facts. 
The  French  were  skilled  in  artillery  and  all  the 
art  of  beleaguering;  Henry  VIII  had  died  in  the 
previous  January ;  the  English  Government  were  dis- 
inclined to  fulfil  his  obligation  to  his  Scotch  allies  ;  nor 
did  it  require  a  supernatural  revelation  to  recognize 
the  hopeless  weakness  of  a  garrison  without  law  or 
loyalty.  "  Their  corrupt  life,"  Knox  told  them,  "  could 
not  escape  the  judgment  of  God."  Plague  was  within 
the  Castle ;  outside,  the  French  cannon,  mounted  on 
the  College  tower  and  Abbey  steeples,  raked  the  walls 
and  court  of  the  fortress.  On  Saturday  the  last  of 
July  the  Castle  surrendered.  The  garrison  were  care- 
ful to  yield  only  to  the  French  Admiral,  trusting  his 
promise  that  they  should  be  taken  to  France  and  there 
either  remain  at  liberty  or  be  allowed  to  depart  to 
another  country.  But  it  was  not  a  habit  of  the  French 
princes  to  keep  faith  with  heretics.  The  more  im- 
portant of  the  St.  Andrews  garrison  were  scattered  in 
French  prisons ;  the  rest,  and  among  them  Knox,  were 
sent  to  the  galleys. 


CHAPTER   11. 

IN  ENGLAND. 

FuK   tbu   nineteen   months    that    fulluwed   (August  \ 
1547 — February  1549),  Knox  Avas  a  slave  on  a  French       ] 
galley.    This  means  that  he  formed  part  of  the  wretched 
human  machinery  that  worked  those  great  transport 
vessels.     Railed  off  from  the  rest  of  the  ship's  company, 
the  rowers,  riveted  by  chains  to  the  deck,  worked  in- 
cessantly  at    their   heavy   oars.     The   squalor  of   the 
place    was    unspeakable ;     the    company    coarse    and 
brutal.     From    the    labours    and    exposure    of    these 
months,  Knox  contracted  one  of  the  cruellest  diseases 
that  can  torture  human  tiesh.     From  this  he  suffered 
all  his  days.     It  is  a  singular  merit  that  he  who  was 
so  explicit  about  himself  never  complains   of  bodily 
suffering.     His  religion,  which   had    such   large  room 
for  spiritual   torments,  forbade  all  murmuring  against 
the  torments  of  the  body.     Illness  was  to  him  either^ 
the  obstruction  of  the  devil  to  be  triumphed  over,  or  | 
the   dispensation   of  Almighty   God,   to    be   patiently  I 
borne  as  the  well-merited  punishment  for  sin. 

Neither  the  apparent  triumph  of  Antichrist  in 
Scotland,  nor  his  own  helplessness,  lying  in  chains 
and   in  the   last   extremity   of  sickness,   could   shake 


r 


U  JOHN  KNOX 

his  confident  belief  that  God  had  work  for  him  to  do 
in  his  own  country.  At  the  time  when  few  hoped  that 
he  would  recover,  the  galley  he  was  in  happened  to 
be  lying  in  the  North  Sea  off  Dundee.  Pointing  across 
the  bay  to  the  roofs  and  towers  of  St.  Andrews,  a 
companion  asked  him  if  he  knew  the  place.  "  Yea,  I 
know  it  well :  for  I  see  the  steeple  of  the  place  where 
God  first,  in  public,  opened  my  mouth  to  His  glory; 
and  I  am  fully  persuaded,  how  weak  soever  I  now 
appear,  I  shall  not  depart  this  life  till  that  my  tongue 
■'  shall  glorify  His  godly  Name  in  that  place."  In  winter, 
the  Notre,  Dame,  the  galley  on  which  Knox  was  a 
prisoner,  was  laid  up  off  Rouen;  Henry  Balnaves  was 
lying  a  captive  in  the  palace  of  the  same  town.  He 
contrived  secretly  to  send  Knox  a  treatise  he  had 
written  in  prison  on  Justification,  Having  read  the 
work,  "  to  the  comfort  of  his  spirit,"  Knox  sent  it  with 
his  own  comments  to  the  faithful  in  Scotland,  adding 
noble  words  of  courage  and  hope.  "The  serpent,"  he 
wrote,  "hath  power  only  to  molest  and  trouble  the 
tlesh,  but  not  to  move  the  spirit  from  constant  adhering 
to  Jesus  Christ,  nor  public  professing  of  His  true 
Word."  This  "public  professing"  afforded  Knox  the 
satisfaction  of  deriding  the  religious  observances  of  his 
enemies.  One  day  an  image  of  Our  Lady — "  a  painted 
brod  "  (picture) — was  brought  on  deck.  The  officers  of 
the  galley,  with  petty  tyranny,  thrust  it  roughly  into 
Knox's  hands,  bidding  him  kiss  it.  He  forbade  them 
to  trouble  him  with  the  accursed  idol ;  they  persisted. 
Then  he,  "  looking  round  advisedly,  cast  it  into  the 
river,  and  said,  '  Let  Our  Lady  now  save  herself : 
>^  she  is  light  enough :  let  her  learn  to  swim.' "  In 
relating  this  "  merry  fact,"   Knox   adds   significantly. 


IN  ENGLAND  16 

"After    that   was    no    Scottislimau    urged    with    that 
idolatry." 

Early  iu  1549  deliverance  came.  The  English 
Government  negotiated  with  the  French  King  the 
release  of  the  Scottish  prisoners.  It  was  a  tardy 
recognition  on  the  part  of  the  Privy  Council  of  the 
fact  that  the  St.  Andrews  garrison  had  been  the  late 
King's  allies  and  had  fought  in  his  quarrel. 

The  Protector  Somerset  had  probably  a  purpose  of 
his  own  in  bringing  Knox  to  England.  The  condition 
of  religion  in  that  country  was  confused  and  shifting. 
Before  he  died,  Henry  VIII  himself  had  grown  averse 
to  persecution  and  more  tolerant  of  innovations.  After 
his  death  (January  1547)  changes  took  place  so  sweeping 
as  almost  to  be  revolutionary. 

Somerset,  who  had  seized  the  Protectorship  on  the 
death  of  Henry,  was  a  Protestant  of  an  advanced  type. 
The  boy-king  was  surrounded  by  Protestant  tutors. 
Amongst  the  bishops  several  were  distinctly  Protestant. 
Cranmer  himself  was  gradually  drifting  into  a  Pro-  ^ 
testantism  that  in  some  points  Avas  more  akin  to  Geneva 
than  to  Wittenberg.  In  London  and  in  the  towns  of 
the  eastern  sea-board  many  of  the  citizens  were  Pro- 
testant by  conviction ;  but  the  bulk  of  the  people  was 
obstinately  eonservative  and  resented  further  innovation 
in  ritual  or  teaching.  It  was  part  of  Somerset's  plan 
for  forcing  the  Reformation  on  the  people,  to  send 
preachers  of  approved  doctrine  into  all  parts  of  the 
country.  He  must  have  heard  of  Knox's  power  iu 
the  pulpit,  for  on  his  arrival  the  latter  was  dispatched 
at  once  to  Berwick  as  a  licensed  preacher. 

Berwick  was  a  garrison  town,  and  the  first  con- 
gregation Knox  had  in  England  was  made  up  of  much 


16  JOHN  KNOX 

the  same  rough  elements  as  the  congregation  he  had 
had  at  St.  Andrews.  The  Evangelical  message  which 
Knox  brought  to  these  self-willed,  ignorant  men  has 
always  had  a  strange  power  over  soldiers  by  reason  of 
its  definiteness  and  emphasis.  The  images  that  came 
most  readily  to  him  in  preaching  or  exhorting  were 
all  drawn  from  the  camp  and  the  battle-field.  "  Though 
the  battle  appear  strong,  your  Captain  is  inexpugnable," 
he  writes.  And  again,  "Abide,  stand  and  call  for  His 
support,  and  so  the  enemies  which  now  affray  you  shall 
be  confounded."  When,  early  in  1551,  he  Avas  removed 
to  Newcastle,  he  carried  with  him  his  own  following. 
"  Many  Scots  resorted  to  Newcastle  chiefly  for  his 
fellowship."  Otherwise,  he  found  himself  in  hostile 
surroundings.  The  North  was  peculiarly  conservative 
in  religion ;  the  influence  of  Bishop  Tunstall — "  dream- 
ing Durham,"  as  Knox  nicknamed  the  friend  of  More 
and  Erasmus — was  adverse  to  the  Reformation,  The 
authorities  in  Newcastle  looked  with  dislike  on  the 
new  preacher  who  refused  even  to  conform  to  the 
ritual  prescribed  in  the  Prayer-Book. 

But  the  Government,  eager  to  press  the  Keformation 
on  the  reluctant  country,  needed  men  like  Knox.  In 
December  1551  he  was  appointed  one  of  King  Edward's 
Chaplains,  along  with  five  others  all  chosen  from  the 
more  extreme  school.  In  January  1552  the  Duke  of 
Somerset  died  on  the  scaffold ;  but,  though  Somerset 
was  gone,  there  was  no  change  in  the  policy  of  the 
Government.  Northumberland,  the  ambitious  rival 
whose  malignity  had  precipitated  Somerset's  fate,  with 
rapid  calculation,  determined  to  throw  in  his  lot  with 
the  advanced  party  among  the  Reformers,  With  the 
simple   readiness   of  dogmatic   theologians  to   believe 


IN  ENGLAND  17 

nothing  but  good  of  those  who  give  adherence  to  their 
formulas,  many  of  the  extreme  Protestants  were  eager 
to  acknowledge  Northumberland  as  their  champion. 
Even  the  clear-sighted  Hooper  wrote  of  him,  "  To  tell 
the  truth,  England  cannot  do  without  him.  He  is  a 
most  holy  and  fearless  instrument  of  the  Word  of 
God."  No  such  flattering  words  fell  from  the  lips  or 
pen  of  Knox.  He  openly  lamented  the  death  of 
Somerset,  both  in  Newcastle  and  in  other  places,  much 
to  the  chagrin  of  the  authorities.  He  was  "  compelled 
of  conscience"  to  blame  that  "ungodly  breach  of 
charity "  by  which  Northumberland  had  procured  the 
death  of  "  his  innocent  friend." 

In  the  summer  of  1552  Northumberland  was  at 
Newcastle  as  Warden  of  the  North.  Knox  boasts  that 
he  preached  before  the  great  man  with  perfect  plain- 
ness of  speech.  Whether  offended  or  not,  the  Duke 
was  astute  enough  to  recognize  in  the  preacher  a  man 
whom  it  was  worth  while  to  conciliate,  or  at  least  to 
remove  from  his  own  neighbourhood.  Knox  came  to 
London  in  his  train  in  October  1552,  and  was  generally 
spoken  of  as  the  "  Duke's  chaplain,"  It  was,  however, 
as  "  King's  chaplain "  that  he  had  been  summoned  to 
London  to  preach  in  his  turn  at  Court.  His  first 
sermon  arrested  instant  attention.  Under  the  date 
October  12,  1552,  a  foreign  divine  in  London  wrote 
to  Bullinger  the  Zurich  Reformer :  "  Some  disputes 
have  arisen  amongst  the  Bishops,  in  consequence  of 
a  sermon  by  a  pious  preacher,  chaplain  to  the  Duke  of 
Northumberland,  preached  before  the  King  and  Council, 
in  which  he  inveighed  with  great  freedom  against  the 
kneeling  at  the  Lord's  Supper.  This  good  man — a 
Scotsman  by  nation — has  so  wrought  upon  the  minds   -^ 


18  JOHN  KNOX 

of  many,  that  we  may  hope  some  good  to  the  Church 
will  at  length  arise  from  it." 

It  happened  to  bo  the  moment  when  the  liturgical 
forms  of  the  Church  of  England  were  under  consider- 
ation. The  Second  Prayer-Book  of  Edward  VI.  was  going 
through  the  press  during  October  1552.  It  contained 
a  rubric  enjoining  kneeling  as  the  proper  attitude  for  re- 
ceiving the  Sacrament.  Those  Prayer-Books  which  were 
printed  in  the  end  of  September,  had  that  rubric  with- 
out comment ;  those  that  appeared  after  October  27th 
had,  inserted  in  the  Communion  Office,  a  note  explain- 
ing that  the  attitude  of  kneeling  is  "  well  meant  for  a 
signification  of  our  humble  and  grateful  acknowledg- 
V  ments  of  the  benefits  of  Christ  therein  given  .  .  .  but 
thereby  no  adoration  is  intended  .  .  .  either  unto  the 
Sacramental  Bread  and  Wine  ...  or  unto  any  Corporal 
presence  of  Christ's  natural  Flesh  and  Blood," 

This  note  is  still  appended  to  the  Communion  Office 
of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  and  is  known  as  the 
"  Black  Rubric."  That  its  presence  there  is  partly  at 
least  due  to  Knox's  influence  is  rendered  probable  by  the 
remark  of  a  Catholic  opponent :  "  A  runagate  Scot," 
said  Dr.  Weston,  in  dispute  with  Latimer  at  Oxford 
(1554),  "did  take  away  the  adoration  or  worshipping 
of  Christ  in  the  Sacrament ;  by  whose  procurement  it 
was  put  into  the  last  Prayer-Book."  Kneeling  at  the 
Sacrament  was  no  idle  question  of  ritual;  it  involved 
one  of  the  main  articles  in  dispute  between  the  Church 
of  Rome  and  the  Reformed  Churches.  Knox's  chief 
concern  was  how  this  new  enactment,  even  in  its 
modified  form,  would  affect  the  congregations  in 
Berwick  and  Newcastle,  which  he  had  trained  in  the 
austerest  simplicity  of  ritual.     If  they  resisted  the  new 


IN  ENGLAND  19 

ordinance,  peace  would  be  broken ;  if  they  submitted, 
believing  it  to  be  wrong,  they  would  wound  their 
consciences ;  worst  of  all,  if  they  accepted  it  willingly, 
they  would  fall  from  the  purity  of  their  first  belief. 
For  the  sake  of  peace  and  to  avoid  all  cause  of  offence, 
Knox  forced  himself  to  counsel  submission.  He  even  did 
such  violence  to  his  own  instincts  as  to  speak  of  rites 
and  ceremonies  as  "  things  of  smaller  weight,"  though 
he  added,  with  passionate  emphasis,  "that  he  Avould 
gladly  die,  if  thereby  he  could  establish  that  order 
■^  that  God's  truth  hath  planted  among  you." 

This  pastoral  devotion  was  but  ill  deserved  by  the 
congregation  at  Berwick.  They  appear  to  have  shown 
a  "  godly  jealousy  "  over  the  worldly  promotion  of  their 
pastor,  and  Knox,  arrogant  to  his  enemies,  was  at  all 
times  painfully  sensitive  to  the  opinion  of  those  he 
considered  the  "faithful."  It  is  pathetic  to  hear  him 
plead  that  they,  "  whose  offence  I  more  fear  than  my 
own  life,"  "should  not  be  slandered  nor  offended,  as 
that  some  spirit  of  pride  was  of  late  crept  into  me." 
He  had  proved  his  disinterestedness  by  refusing  one 
of  the  highest  honours  the  Church  of  England  had  to 
offer.  In  the  end  of  October,  Northumberland  had 
written  to  Cecil  (already  Secretary  of  State)  suggesting 
that  Knox  might  be  made  Bishop  of  Rochester,  "an 
act  which  would  be  both  for  God's  service  and  the 
King's."  He  might  have  added,  "and  for  the  con- 
venience of  the  Duke  of  Northumberland."  He  had 
in  fact  a  scheme  for  breaking  up  the  diocese  of  Durham 
and  appropriating  part  of  the  princely  estates,  and  the 
presence  of  the  clear-sighted,  plain-spoken  preacher 
would  not  further  this  plan.  The  vacant  see  of 
Rochester   would   dispose   handsomely  of    Knox;   the 


20  JOHN  KNOX 

Scottish  preacher,  he  added,  "  would  be  a  whetstone  to 
sharpen  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  as  well  as  a 
confounder  of  the  Anabaptists." 

To  Northumberland's  disgust,  Knox  roundly  refused 
to  come  into  the  plan,  "I  do  return  him,"  wrote  the 
Duke,  in  high  dudgeon,  after  an  intervicAV  with  Knox  in 
November,  "  because  I  love  not  to  do  with  men  wdio  be 
neither  grateful  nor  pleasable." 

Ostensibly  Knox  refused  this  promotion  because  he 
disapproved  of  many  things  in  the  Church  of  England 
— the  absence  of  Church  Discipline  for  one  thing,  the 
wealth  and  political  influence  of  the  bishops  for  another. 
Still,  Hooper  was  as  uncompromisingly  Puritan  as 
Knox,  and  Hooper  had  accepted  the  see  of  Gloucester. 
In  reality,  Knox's  reason  for  refusing  went  deeper  than 
any  single  scruple.  He  felt  profoundly  the  unreality 
and  insecurity  of  the  Reformation  in  England.  A  year 
later,  when  the  evil  times  had  come  and  he  himself 
was  in  exile,  he  wrote :  "  What  moved  me  to  refuse,  and 
1/  that  with  displeasure  of  all  men,  those  high  promotions  ? 
Assuredly  the  foresight  of  troubles  to  come.  How  oft 
have  I  said  that  the  time  would  not  be  long  that 
England  would  give  me  bread  ? " 

Even  to  a  less  penetrating  eye  the  state  of  the 
country  was  deplorable  enough.  The  majority  of  the 
people  were  divided  into  those  who  sullenly  held  to 
the  old  faith  and  those  who  rushed  headlong  into  licence 
and  stupid  irreverence.  The  Court  was  torn  with 
factions ;  Edward  was  failing  in  health ;  Mary,  the 
next  heir,  was  a  bigoted  Catholic.  Her  supporters 
were  watching  their  chance  and  busily  intriguing, 
while,  reckless  of  justice  and  the  feeling  of  the  country, 
Northumberland  was  plotting  to  keep  the  power  in  his 


IN  ENGLAND  21 

own  hand.  Even  the  Reformers  could  not  deceive 
themselves  as  to  the  condition  of  the  country.  With 
an  irony  that  cannot  be  quite  unconscious,  one  of  the 
foreign  divines  wrote  to  Bullinger,  "  Religion  is  indeed 
prospering,  but  the  wickedness  of  those  who  profess  the 
Gospel  is  wonderfully  on  the  increase." 

The  only  expressions  of  public  opinion  came  from 
the  pulpit.  All  through  Lent  (1553)  divines  of  the 
more  Puritan  school  preached  before  the  dying  boy, 
exposing  the  falsehood  and  greed  of  his  ministers. 
Their  tongues  were,  in  no  case,  "  tempered  by  holy 
water  of  the  Court,"  but  perhaps  none  spake  so  plainly 
as  Knox.  Under  the  transparent  veil  of  Shebna, 
Achitophel  and  Judas,  he  described  the  "crafty,  covetous, 
wicked,  and  ungodly  councillors,"  who  were  probably 
all  present  at  the  sermon.  That  there  might  be  no 
uncertainty  as  to  his  meaning,  he  ended  with  unfalter- 
ing emphasis,  "I  am  greatly  afraid  that  Achitophel 
be  Councillor" — and  all  the  Court  glanced  at  North- 
umberland— "  that  Judas  bear  the  purse  " — this  appli- 
cation was  doubtless  as  clear  as  the  other  to  his  hearers, 
though  it  is  now  uncertain — "  and  that  Shebna  be 
scribe,  controller,  and  treasurer " — and  all  present 
recognized  Paulet,  Marquis  of  Winchester.  This  was 
the  last  time  Knox  preached  at  Court.  The  King  was 
removed  to  Greenwich  in  April,  and  lay  there,  slowly 
dying,  for  two  months,  while  greed  and  ambition 
intrigued  to  the  last  round  his  bed. 

Edward  died  on  July  6,  and  at  once  the  country 
was  plunged  into  confusion.  The  excitement  spread 
to  remote  villages.  Knox  was  at  this  time  on  a 
missionary  tour  through  Buckinghamshire,  and  on 
July  16  he  preached  in  the  Parish  Church  of  Amersham ; 


22  JOHN  KNOX 

and  there,  before  au  excited  and  partly  hostile  auditory, 
he  took  up  his  lament  for  England  :  "  Oh,  England, 
thou  shalt  be  plagued  and  brought  to  desolation  by 
the  means  of  those  whose  favour  thou  seekest,  and  by 
whom  thou  art  procured  to  fall  from  Christ,  and  to 
serve  Antichrist." 

Knox  was  in  London  when  Mary  was  proclaimed 
Queen;  but  the  "fires  of  joy"  and  ill-timed  rejoicing  of 
the  deluded  people  only  deepened  his  foreboding.  The 
immediate  effect  of  the  change  of  government  on  him  per- 
sonally was  to  stop  his  stipend  and  reduce  him  to  absolute 
poverty.  When  he  left  London,  on  his  way  North  in 
December,  ten  groats  comprised  his  whole  fortune,  but 
"  that  little  troubles  me  "  is  his  characteristic  comment. 
That  autumn  he  found  safety  in  constant  travelling  and 
solace  in  constant  preaching. 

The  ostensible  toleration  with  which  Mary's  reign 
began  deceived  no  one.  By  the  end  of  October  the 
foreign  divines  were  expelled,  and  several  bishops  were 
in  prison.  It  was  an  urgent  question  with  all  the 
Protestant  preachers  whether  prudence  counselled 
flight,  or  duty  demanded  quiet  abiding  at  their  posts. 
Cranmer  had  been  accounted  timid,  but  he  remained  at 
Lambeth;  many  another  humble  professor  showed  the 
same  steadfastness.  There  had  been  no  sign  of  falter- 
ing on  Knox's  part.  Everywhere  in  those  last  months 
he  had  proclaimed  the  same  message,  "The  last  trumpet 
is  blown,  within  the  realm  of  England ;  let  every  man 
prepare  himself  for  the  battle." 

The  20th  of  December  was  the  limit  fixed  by  Mary's 
Government  for  toleration  of  the  Reformed  services. 
About  that  date  Knox  arrived  in  Newcastle.  He  was 
in  the  midst  of  enemies  on  the  alert  to  injure  him ;  a 


IN  ENGLAND  23 

messenger  carrying  his  private  letters  was  stopped  and 
searched;  his  friends  urged  him,  even  with  tears,  to 
save  himself  by  flight.  He  happened  to  be  worn  with 
labour,  perplexed  and  discouraged  in  his  private  affairs, 
tormented  Avith  his  chronic  malady.  The  decision  was 
of  necessity  hurried  and  Knox  yielded  to  the  entreaties 
of  his  friends.  He  is  himself  the  only  authority  for  his 
conduct ;  it  is  obvious  that  he  was  hardly  clear  about  his 
own  motives.  "  Some  will  then  ask  :  '  Why  did  I  fly  ? ' 
Assuredly  I  cannot  tell,  but  of  one  thing  I  am  sure,  the 
fear  of  death  was  not  the  chief  cause  of  my  flying." 

The  letter  containing  this  passage  was  written  at 
Dieppe,  in  the  first  days  of  solitude  and  reaction  after 
the  excitement  of  the  escape.  He  was  restless  for  lack 
of  his  accustomed  preaching ;  he  was  full  of  regret  for 
friends  in  England ;  above  all  he  had  an  uneasy  sense 
that  his  flight  might  be  adversely  interpreted.  "  Albeit," 
he  writes  at  the  end  of  the  same  letter,  "  I  have  at  the 
beginning  of  this  battle  appeared  to  play  the  faint- 
hearted and  feeble  soldier  (the  cause  I  remit  to  God), 
yet  my  prayer  is  that  I  may  be  restored  to  the  battle. 
.  .  .  For  a  few  sermons  by  me  to  be  made  in  England, 
my  heart  at  this  hour  would  be  content  to  suffer  more 
than  nature  were  able  to  contain,  as  by  the  grace  of  the 
most  mighty  and  most  merciful  God,  shall  one  day  be 
known." 


CHAPTER  III. 

ENGLISH   FRIENDS. 

Knox  was  forty-four  when  he  first  arrived  in  Berwick. 
Holy  orders  had  cut  him  off  in  early  life  from  the 
nearer  domestic  ties,  and  had  probably  kept  him  remote 
from  familiar  friendships.  There  are,  in  his  later  life, 
only  two  slight  references  to  the  pupils  and  friends  of 
East  Lothian  days.  It  was  in  England  that  he  first 
formed  ties  of  enduring  intimacy.  Singularly  enough, 
though  he  never  failed  to  vociferate  his  belief  in  the 
immeasurable  superiority,  spiritual  and  intellectual,  of 
man,  his  warmest  and  most  confidential  friendships  were 
with  women.  Solitary  and  often  ailing,  he  needed  the 
comfortable  kindness  of  women ;  in  return  he  gave 
unfailing  sympathy  and  counsel  in  their  spiritual  life  to 
devout  "  sisters  in  Christ,"  who  had  hardly  had  time  to 
unlearn  the  habit  of  resorting  to  a  father  confessor. 

The  conflict  between  new  convictions  and  old  authori- 
ties, which  was  disturbing  every  realm  in  Europe,  must 
have  been  painfully  re-enacted  in  many  private  house- 
holds. This  was  the  case  in  the  family  of  Richard 
Bowes,  Governor  of  the  Castle  of  Norham  at  the  time 
Knox  arrived  in  Berwick.  He  himself,  it  seems,  was 
"  unconvinced  in  religion,"  but  liis  wife,  Elizabeth  Aske, 


ENGLISH  FRIENDS  25 

had  adopted  the  Reformed  religion  at  a  time  when  it 
Avas  perilous  to  do  so.  In  spite  of  the  opposition  of  all 
her  friends,  this  lady  clung  to  her  faith  with  a  persist- 
ence that  is  pathetic ;  but  perplexed  by  argument  and 
harassed  by  the  constant  efforts  to  realize  the  spiritual 
advantages  for  which  she  had  sacrificed  ease  and  friend- 
shijD,  she  fell  alternately  into  nervous  self-scrutiny  and 
a  state  of  despairing  doubt  concerning  the  truths  of 
religion. 

This  spiritual  hypochondria,  though  not  peculiar  to 
extreme  Protestantism,  is  apt  to  be  fostered  by  the 
stress  laid  in  that  form  of  faith  on  "  inward  assurance." 
The  Catholic  Church,  by  enjoining  external  acts,  may 
stupefy  the  soul  or  raise  it  to  exaltation,  but  at  least  it 
lightens  the  weight  of  personal  responsibility.  Modern 
religion,  allying  itself  with  active  benevolence,  leaves 
Christians  scant  leisure  for  the  care  of  their  own  souls. 
Protestantism,  placing  salvation  in  an  inward  appropria- 
tion of  spiritual  mysteries,  laid  a  weight  on  the  in- 
dividual reason  and  conscience  that  often  proved  over- 
whelming. To  understand  the  reality  and  pathos  of 
these  self-questionings  and  spiritual  terrors,  we  must  go 
to  the  pages  of  the  Pilgrim's  Progress.  No  one  can 
dismiss  as  mere  morbidity  the  sufferings  of  the  tender 
conscience  and  valiant  spirit  of  Mr.  Fearing.  We  need 
the  recollection  of  that  beautiful  picture  to  keep  us  in 
patience  with  such  a  weariful  Mrs.  Much-Afraid  as 
Elizabeth  Bowes.  From  the  first  time  she  heard  Knox 
preach  she  judged  him  to  be  one  of  the  faithful,  and 
soon  communication  between  the  two  became  constant, 
either  by  speech  or  by  correspondence.  Her  letters 
have,  fortunately  perhaps,  perished.  From  his  answers, 
it  is  plain  that  she  was  dexterous  in  wresting  texts  to 


26  JOHN  KNOX 

her  own  tormenting  and  unwearied  in  discovering  new 
(and  often  impossible)  temptations.  Oddly  enough  Knox 
seems  never  to  have  lost  interest  in  her  monotonous 
complaints.  Only  once  is  there  a  little  gentle  impa- 
tience in  his  reply  to  her ;  "  My  daily  labours  must  now 
increase,  and  therefore  spare  me  as  much  as  you  may. 
My  old  malady  troubles  me  sore  and  nothing  is  more 
contrary  to  my  health  than  writing."  Usually  how- 
ever, this  singular,  religious  friendship  seems  to  have 
been  as  great  a  solace  to  him  as  it  was  to  her.  Espe- 
cially in  the  beginning  of  the  correspondence,  Knox  saw 
in  Mrs.  Bowes'  experiences  "  the  very  mirror  and  glass  " 
of  that  inner  life  which,  at  this  time,  he  cultivated  so 
sedulously.  The  friends  discussed  their  temptations 
with  curious  particularity.  "  Call  to  your  mind  what  I 
did  standing  at  the  cupboard  in  Alnwick,"  wrote  Knox, 
in  one  of  his  letters.  "  In  very  deed  I  thought  that  no 
creature  had  been  tempted  as  I  was."  But  though 
"  dolour  complained  to  dolour "  on  terms  of  apparent 
equality,  Knox  at  times  asserted  the  superiority  of  the 
man  and  the  preacher.  "  If  I,"  he  wrote,  "  to  whom 
God  has  given  greater  gifts  am  so  wrapt  into  misery  .  .  . 
if  such  wretched  wickedness  remain  in  God's  chief 
ministers,  what  wonder  albeit  the  same  remain  in 
you  ? " 

Considering  the  ample  leisure  Mrs.  Bowes  spent  on 
her  correspondence  it  is  surprising  to  learn  that  she  was 
the  mother  of  twelve  children.  The  fifth  of  these  was 
a  daughter  not  yet  out  of  her  teens.  This  shadowy 
Marjorie,  of  whom  we  catch  but  faint,  pathetic  glimpses, 
became  the  affianced  wife  of  Knox  before  he  left 
Berwick  for  Newcastle  early  in  (1551).  It  may  have 
been  by  her  own  desire.     The  romance  of  self-devotion 


ENGLISH  FRIENDS  27 

has  for  some  young  girls  a  stronger  attraction  than  the 
less  illusory  romance  of  love.  Her  relations  however 
hotly  accused  Mrs.  Bowes  of  having  made  up  the  matter 
with  Knox.  Not  unreasonably,  Richard  Bowes'  fatherly 
kindness  objected  to  an  elderly  suitor  of  uncertain  pros- 
pects. Besides,  there  remained  in  the  mind  of  the 
ordinary  Englishman  of  that  time  a  marked  distaste  for 
married  clergymen.  The  prejudice  was  shared  by  many 
of  Knox's  Berwick  friends,  and  the  preacher,  who  loved 
to  plead  the  Divine  sanction  for  all  his  acts,  was  irritated 
by  it  into  protest.  "  I  do  purpose  and  intend,"  he  wrote 
to  them,  "  to  obey  God,  embracing  such  as  He  has  offered 
unto  me  (rather)  than  to  please  and  flatter  man  that 
unjustly  holdeth  the  same  from  me." 

Among  the  numerous  letters  to  Mrs.  Bowes,  there  is 
a  solitary  one  to  Marjorie.  It  begins,  "  Dearly  beloved 
sister  in  the  common  faith  of  Jesus  our  Saviour ; "  and 
ends  enigmatically,  "  I  think  this  be  the  first  time  I  ever 
wrote  to  you."  Does  the  "  I  think  "  chronicle  prosaic 
doubt  or  endearing  emphasis  ? 

When  the  evil  days  came  under  Mary,  and  Knox  was 
a  fugitive,  mother  and  daughter  held  true  to  him  with 
heroic  persistence,  and  faced  much  painful  opposition 
from  their  relatives  on  his  behalf.  "  I  was  assured  of 
your  trouble,"  wrote  Knox  in  September  1553,  "and  of 
the  battle  of  my  own  flesh  " — by  this  ungraceful  image 
he  always  alludes  to  his  bride — "  before  God,  and  I 
suspect  a  greater  to  lie  upon  you  both  than  that  your 
letters  declare  unto  me."  The  thought  of  these  lonely 
women  fighting  his  battle  stirred  a  chivalrous  chord  in 
this  rather  tardy  lover.  "  It  becomes  me  noAv  to  jeopard 
my  life  for  the  comfort  and  deliverance  of  my  own  flesh ; 
both  fear  and  friendship  of  all  earthly  creature  laid 


28  JOHN   KNOX 

aside."  In  pursuance  of  this  resolve,  Knox  went  ou 
November  6  to  see  the  head  of  the  house,  Sir  Robert 
Bowes,  Marjorie's  uncle,  in  London.  He  found  the 
choleric  old  knight  "not  only  a  despiscr,  but  also  a 
taunter  of  God's  messengers  (God  be  merciful  unto 
him)."  The  preacher  braved  out  the  interview  with  a 
"  good  countenance,"  but  the  "  despiteful  words  had  so 
pierced  his  heart  that  his  life  was  bitter  unto  him." 
Though  he  was  even  inclined  to  acquiesce  rather 
tamely  in  the  decision  "  that  such  things  as  I  have 
desired,  and  ye  and  others  have  long  desired,  are  never 
like  to  come  to  pass,"  yet  he  undertook  the  perilous 
journey  to  Newcastle  in  December,  chiefly  in  the  hope 
of  seeing  Mrs.  Bowes  and  Marjorie.  His  coming  had 
been  carefully  concealed  from  mother  and  daughter  by 
their  relatives,  and,  as  danger  closed  round  him,  Knox 
recognized  the  impossibility  of  seeing  either  of  them 
"  till  God  offer  some  better  occasion." 
'  This  friendship  with  Mrs.  Bowes  was  not  the  only 
intimacy  Knox  formed  in  England.  In  a  letter  written 
to  her  from  London  in  the  winter  of  1552-53,  he 
described  himself  at  the  time  her  letter  reached  him, 
as  sitting  with  "three  poor  honest  women"  Aveej)ing 
together  "over  the  assaults  of  the  enemy."  Mrs.  Bowes' 
letter,  being  of  course  germane  to  the  matter,  was  read 
aloud.  "Oh,  would  to  God  I  might  speak  Avith  that 
person,"  cried  one  of  the  matrons  present, "  for  I  perceive 
there  are  more  tempted  than  I." 

This  scene  may  have  taken  place  in  the  house  either 
of  Mrs.  Locke  or  Mrs.  Hickman,  two  merchants'  wives 
in  London,  They  seem  to  liave  been  rich,  and,  after 
the  manner  of  devout  women  in  all  ages,  they  showed 
a  "  special  care  "  for  the  comfort  of  their  spiritual  guide. 


ENGLISH  FRIENDS  29 

For  the  ten  folloAving  years  Mrs.  Anna  Locke  was 
Knox's  most  valued  and  confidential  friend.  He  writes 
to  her  of  the  progress  of  the  Reformation  in  Scotland, 
commissions  her  to  get  him  books,  consults  her  as  to 
the  possibility  of  raising  funds  among  the  faithful.  He 
resolves  her  doubts,  but  they  are  reasonable  doubts 
concerning  the  duty  of  attending  the  imperfect  services 
of  the  Church  of  England,  very  different  from  the  in- 
firmities of  poor  Mrs.  Bowes.  To  Mrs.  Locke  is  addressed 
that  golden  sentence  in  one  of  Knox's  letters  which 
touches  us  by  its  human  humility  infinitely  more  than 
the  "  sobs  "  and  "  dolours  "  of  his  self-abasement  before 
God.  "Of  nature,  I  am  churlish,  and  in  conditions 
different  from  many;  yet  one  thing  I  ashame  not  to 
affirm,  that  familiarity  once  thoroughly  contracted  was 
never  yet  broken  on  my  default.  The  cause  may  be 
that  I  have  rather  need  of  all  than  that  any  have  need 
of  me." 


CHAPTER   IV. 

ox   THE   CONTINENT  (1554 — 1555). 

The  desire  to  be  Avithin  reach  of  news  from  England 
kept  Knox  at  Dieppe  till  the  end  of  February.  He  was 
full  of  passionate  solicitude  for  the  congregations  he 
had  left  in  London,  Berwick,  and  Newcastle.  Cut  off 
from  the  spoken  word  of  exhortation,  he  addressed  a 
letter  to  the  "  faithful "  in  these  places,  wishing  them 
"continuance  in  godliness  to  the  end."  He  reminded 
them,  how  constantly,  in  the  days  of  seeming  prosperity, 
he  had  sounded  in  their  ears  the  judgment  that  must 
fall  on  the  country  for  its  neglect  and  contempt  of  God's 
Word.  His  authority  for  that  prophecy  had  not  been 
the  "  marvels  of  Merlin,"  but  the  plain  truth  of  God's 
Word,  His  invincible  justice.  His  dealings  with  His 
people  Israel  as  revealed  to  the  prophets.  On  the  same 
infallible  authorities  Knox  now  proclaimed  that  the 
punishment  begun  at  the  household  of  faith  must 
shortly  fall,  with  ten-fold  weight,  on  the  idolatrous 
children  of  disobedience.  "  Dear  brethren,"  he  writes, 
"if  idolatry  continue  as  it  has  begun,  no  more  may 
England  escape  God's  vengeance  than  God  Himself  may 
lose  His  justice."  The  first  motive  he  urges  for  the 
avoidance  of  idolatry,  is  that  they  who  share  in  the  sin 


ON  THE  CONTINENT  31 

will  certainly  be  included  in  the  vengeance  which  must 
shortly  follow.  Far  more  emphasis  is  laid  on  this  old 
message  of  the  prophets,  the  terrible  judgments  of  God 
on  unrighteous  nations,  than  on  the  rewards  and  punish- 
ment of  a  future  life.  These  indeed  are  neither  for- 
gotten nor  softened.  "  For  avoiding  idolatry  ye  may, 
perchance,  be  compelled  to  leave  your  native  land  ;  but 
obeyers  of  idolatry  .  .  .  shall  be  compelled,  body  and 
soul,  to  burn  in  Hell.  For  avoiding  idolatry  your  sub- 
stance shall  be  spoilt ;  for  obeying  idolatry  Heavenly 
riches  shall  be  lost."  But  it  is  characteristic  of  Knox 
that  the  strongest  incentive  he  can  urge  for  avoiding 
"  fellowship  with  the  filthy  abomination/'  is  the  natural 
love  and  care  of  a  man  for  his  children.  "  The  only 
way  to  leave  our  children  blessed  and  happy  is  to  leave 
them  rightly  instructed  in  God's  true  religion."  "  Your 
patience  and  constancy,"  he  declares,  "  shall  be  a  louder 
trumpet  to  your  posterity,  than  were  all  the  voices  of 
the  prophets  that  instructed  you  :  and  so  is  not  the 
trumpet  ceased  so  long  as  any  boldly  resisteth  idolatry." 
This  letter  to  his  old  congregations  was  written  at 
the  end  of  February,  "  from  a  sore-troubled  heart,  upon 
my  departure  from  Dieppe,  Avhither  God  knoweth." 
Switzerland,  that  hospitable  stronghold  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, was  the  only  place  whither  a  fugitive  Protestant 
could  turn.  For  two  months  Knox  went  from  one 
religious  centre  to  another,  conversing  with  eminent 
divines,  everywhere  received  as  a  guest  and  brother. 
But  his  heart  could  find  no  rest  out  of  hearing  of  his 
friends.  By  May  he  was  back  at  Dieppe  eagerly  look- 
ing for  news  from  England.  When  he  wrote  his  first 
letter  he  had  believed  that  the  "  battle  would  be  short." 
The  worst  trial  he  contemplated  for  the  faithful  was 


32  JOHN  KNOX 

exile  or  the  loss  of  worldly  substance.  But  the  fugitives 
who  daily  arrived  at  Dieppe  from  England  in  the 
months  of  May  and  June  brought  news  of  relentless 
persecution  and  of  a  political  alliance  subversive  of  the 
Reformation.  In  April  Latimer,  Ridley,  and  Cranmer 
had  been  condemned  (though  they  did  not  suffer  till  a 
year  later)  and  a  marriage  with  Philip  of  Spain,  detested 
by  Catholic  and  Protestant  Englishmen  alike,  was 
imminent.  For  a  moment  Knox  thought  of  returning 
to  England ;  if  he  were  assured  of  the  support  of  his 
friends  he  would  put  his  own  life  in  jeopardy  "  to  let  men 
see  what  may  be  done  with  a  safe  conscience  in  these 
dolorous  and  dangerous  days,"  but  the  fear  of  involving 
others  as  well  as  himself  in  danger  withheld  him. 
Stirred  to  the  depths  by  the  news  he  heard  daily,  he 
wrote  in  July  his  famous  Admonition  to  the  Professors 
of  God's  Truth  in  England.  It  is  more  urgent  and 
passionate  than  the  former  letter.  In  the  face  of  the 
fires  at  Smithfield,  of  prisons  packed  with  notable 
preachers,  and  of  the  "  most  Catholic  King "  already 
on  his  way  to  share  the  imperial  crown  of  England, 
Knox  could  no  longer  declare  that  the  judgments  of 
God  are  to  fall  swiftly  on  the  wicked.  Rather  are  these 
to  be  suffered  to  till  up  the  "  cup  of  their  abominations 
to  the  brim."  Only  when  they  have  endured  to  the 
uttermost  are  the  faithful  to  look  for  deliverance. 
Though  God  shall  save  *'  from  the  very  throat  and 
bottom  of  Hell,"  it  will  not  be  in  a  way  easy  or  pleasing 
to  the  flesh.  "  Of  some  God  will  so  touch  the  heart 
that  they  will  rather  ...  go  as  pilgrims  .  .  .  suffering 
hunger,  cold,  heat,  thirst,  weariness,  and  poverty,  than 
that  they  will  abide  ...  in  subjection  to  idolatry." 
There  is  another  deliverance   more  swift  and  certain. 


ON  THE  CONTINENT  33 

"  It  may  be  that  God  will  so  strengthen  the  hearts  of 
some  of  those  that  have  fainted  before,  that  they  will 
resist  idolatry  to  the  death  ;  and  that  were  a  glorious 
and  triumphant  deliverance."     It  is  the  strength  of  the 
doctrine  preached   by  Knox  that  men  should  believe 
themselves  to  be  "  elected  "  ;    elected  not  to  ease  nor 
prosperity,  nor  speedy  deliverance,  but  to  the  fiercest 
trials  of  flesh  and  spirit,  certain  only  of  this,  that  God 
will  not  suffer  His  chosen  to  fail  Him  in  "  His  battle.' 
It  is  a  faith  for  heroes ;  but  it  has  its  dark  shadow.     It 
teaches  that  the  wicked  are  also  "  elected."     "  There  is 
no  hope  for  their  amendment,"  says  Knox  ;  and,  in  the 
spirit  of  the  most  bloodthirsty  of  the  Psalms,  he  adds, 
"  Let  death  devour  them  in  haste  ;  let  the  earth  swallow 
them  up."     It  would  have  been  prudent  if  he  had  kept 
to  general  denunciations,  but  that  was  not  his  manner 
of  fighting.     Not  sin  in  the  abstract  but  wicked  men 
in   high   places   were   his   opponents.       The   "  Devil's 
Gardener,"  "  Bloody  Bonner,"  "  blind  buzzards,"  "  blood- 
thirsty wolves,"  are  the  missiles  he  hurls  recklessly  at 
the   Bishops   of  Winchester    and    London,   and    their 
brethren.     Mary  is  worse  than  "  Athaliah  "  and  "  Hero- 
dias'  daughter,"  and  is  denounced  as  "  false,  dissembling, 
inconstant,   proud,  and   a   breaker  of    promises,"   the 
"  utter  mischief  of  England."     His  hot  accusation  that 
"  under  an  English  name  she  beareth  a  Spanish  heart," 
shows  how  completely  Knox  shared  the  English  feeling 
on   the   subject   of    her   marriage.      Heedless   of    the 
perilous  position  of  the  Protestants  in  the  Emperor's 
dominions  and  the  destruction  that  might  fall  on  them, 
he  refers  to  Charles  V  as  "  no  less  enemy  to  Christ  than 
ever  was  Nero" — words  that  were  destined  to  ring  in 
his  ears  before  many  months  were  past. 


34  JOHN  KNOX 

It  was  probably  in  July  that  Knox  finally  quitted 
Dieppe  for  Geneva,  that  spiritual  Republic  where  every 
member  of  the  Reformed  Church  had  a  natural  right  of 
citizenship.  He  was  drawn  thither,  rather  than  to  the 
more  liberal  and  genial  society  of  Zurich,  by  the  great 
name  of  Calvin.  Knox  had  bitterly  denounced  the 
absence  of  all  discipline  in  the  English  Church ;  he  was 
eager  to  see  at  Geneva  "the  most  perfect  school  of 
Christ  that  ever  was  on  earth  since  the  days  of  the 
Apostles,"  That  this  "perfect  school"  excited  angry 
opposition  in  a  portion  of  the  citizens,  that  reaction 
from  its  strictness  sometimes  resulted  in  secret  licen- 
tiousness, brought  no  misgivings  to  him  any  more 
than  to  Calvin  himself.  Both  believed  that  it  was 
as  much  the  Divine  mission  of  God's  Word  to  harden 
the  reprobate  in  sin  as  to  increase  the  godly  in 
righteousness. 

Few  men  have  ever  to  the  same  degree  as  Calvin 
combined  practical  and  speculative  genius.  In  his  own 
day  he  was  referred  to  by  all  Protestant  communions  as 
an  infallible  authority  in  details  of  Church  Government, 
as  well  as  on  the  profoundest  theological  questions. 
The  very  men  who  dogmatized  the  right  of  private 
judgment  into  a  fundamental  article  of  belief  knew 
no  higher  exercise  for  that  right  than  to  absorb  the 
dogmas  of  Calvin.  Nor  was  this  ascendancy  confined 
to  his  own  day.  For  three  centuries  Reformed  Churches, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Anglican  and  Lutheran,  have 
been  content  to  let  Calvin  do  their  thinking  for  them. 
Knox  was  not  a  man  of  original  speculative  power,  and 
he  found  in  Calvin's  theology  a  sweep  of  intellect  that 
brought  all  things  in  Heaven  and  Earth  into  a  self- 
consistent  system,  and   a   practical   logic  that  turned 


ON  THE  CONTINENT  35 

abstract  metaphysics  into  serviceable  dogmas.  He  was 
conscious  of  his  own  lack  of  learning,  and  especially 
lamented  his  ignorance  of  Hebrew.  He  found  ripe 
knowledge  of  the  Scriptures,  of  the  Fathers,  even  of 
Antiquity  engrained  in  the  very  texture  of  Calvin's 
thoughts  and  dedicated  to  the  sole  service  of  Theology. 
In  this  model  city,  and  in  converse  with  this  master- 
mind, Knox  hoped  to  find  that  leisure  for  study  that 
he  so  ardently  desired.  But  he  was  not  suffered  to 
carry  out  his  intention.  In  October  came  a  call  from 
the  English  Church  at  Frankfort.  The  little  company 
of  English  fugitives  who  had  settled  in  that  city  were 
associated  with  a  French  congregation,  and  the  Senate 
had  generously  granted  them  a  church  on  the  condition 
that  neither  congregation  should  introduce  into  their 
services  anything  unpleasing  to  the  other.  Of  the 
English  society  the  greater  part  belonged  to  the  ex- 
treme or  Puritanic  party.  To  these  the  opportunity 
was  welcome  for  discarding  many  forms  enjoined  by 
the  Prayer-Book,  and  for  conforming  more  closely  to 
the  foreign  Churches.  There  was  a  distinct  logic  in 
the  position  of  this  extreme  school.  The  Protestant 
Churches,  when  casting  off  the  yoke  of  Rome,  took  up 
firm  ground  on  the  absolute  authority  of  Scripture.  It 
was  incumbent  on  them  therefore  to  justify  every 
change  they  made  in  rites  or  doctrines  by  the  same 
infallible  sanction.  Hence  Knox's  extraordinary  pro- 
position that  every'  form  of  worshipping  God  not  en- 
joined in  the  Scriptures  is  idolatry.  With  less  of  logic, 
but  with  a  finer  and  more  humane  common-sense,  the 
framers  of  the  English  Prayer-Book  had  decided  to 
retain  as  much  of  the  old  form  of  w^orship  as  was  good 
and    pious   in   itself,   and   in    no   wise   opposed   to   the 


36  JOHN  KNOX 

Scrijotures,  These  authors  of  the  Prayer-Book  were 
now  in  prison  and  about  to  testify  by  their  death  to 
the  sincerity  of  their  work.  It  was  no  wonder,  there- 
fore, that  many  of  the  exiled  English  Protestants  feared 
"  lest,  by  much  altering  of  the  same,  they  should  seem 
to  condemn  the  chief  authorities  thereof."  Knox  had 
no  such  scruples.  Even  in  England,  when  he  was  one 
of  the  King's  chaplains,  he  had  never  been  bound  by 
the  prescribed  forms.  Under  his  guidance  and  that  of 
his  colleague  Whittingham,  the  services  at  Frankfort 
approached  more  and  more  to  the  simplicity  of  the 
Genevan  worship.  Not  however  without  protest  from 
the  minority.  They  had  given  up  the  Litany,  the 
surplice,  the  attitude  of  kneeling  at  Communion ;  they 
clung  to  the  rest  of  the  ritual.  It  was  resolved  that 
the  Prayer-Book  should  be  submitted  to  the  infallible 
arbiter  at  Geneva.  The  account  of  the  various  rites  and 
services  drawn  up  by  Knox  and  Whittingham  is  on 
the  whole  fair  enough,  though  contempt  is  dexterously 
conveyed  by  occasional  "forsooths,"  or  by  such  paren- 
theses as  "  Then  he  goeth  to  the  sermon  (if  there  be 
any)."  As  might  have  been  expected,  Calvin  pro- 
nounced against  such  Popish  dregs  as  he  found  in  the 
English  Prayer-Book.  A  compromise  was  arrived  at  in 
the  Church  at  Frankfort,  and  seems  to  have  worked 
happily  enough  till  March,  when  a  fresh  company  of 
English  exiles  arrived.  Many  of  these  were  men  of 
eminence  in  the  Church,  and  chief  amongst  them  was 
Dr.  Cox,  tutor  and  almoner  to  the  late  King.  On  the 
very  first  Sunday  of  their  attendance  at  the  service, 
they  insisted  on  responding  loudly,  and  when  ad- 
monished, replied  roundly  that  "  they  would  do  as  they 
had  done  in  England,  and  their  Church  should  have  an 


ON  THE  CONTINENT  37 

English  face."  Taking  this  up  as  a  challenge,  Knox  on 
the  same  afternoon  preached  a  sermon  denouncing  the 
Aveak  places  of  the  Church  of  England,  Confident  in 
the  strength  of  his  position,  he  himself  urged  that  the 
new-comers  should  be  admitted  to  a  voice  in  the  con- 
gregation, when  others  would  have  excluded  them  on 
a  point  of  order.  There  was  no  possibility  of  any  real 
conciliation.  Knox's  habitual  contempt  for  the  com- 
promising Anglican  spirit  was  increased  by  his  know- 
ledge that  one  at  least  of  his  opponents  had  in  a 
moment  of  danger  abjured  the  faith ;  on  the  other 
hand  his  passionate  dogmatism  and  impatience  of  all 
merely  human  distinctions  exasperated  men,  some  of 
whom  were  Court  bred  and  accustomed  to  meet  with 
deference,  not  to  pay  it.  They  had  besides  brought 
from  England  a  bitter  sense  of  wrong  against  Knox. 
They  averred,  and  only  too  truly,  that  "  that  outrageous 
pamphlet "  of  his,  the  Admonition  to  the  Frofcssm^s 
of  God's  Truth,  "  had  added  much  oil  to  the  flame  of 
persecution  in  England." 

The  controversy  was  at  its  height  when  one  of  Cox's 
party  came  secretly  to  Knox  threatening  that  if  he  did 
not  withdraw  his  opposition  something  would  follow. 
Knox  treated  the  warning  with  contempt.  Thereupon 
his  adversaries  suddenly  produced  the  weapon  they 
held  in  reserve  and  formally  accused  him  to  the  Frank- 
fort Senate  of  "  nine  articles  of  high  treason  against 
the  Emperor,  his  son  Philip,  and  the  Queen  of 
England."  The  Senate,  having  reason  to  think  well 
of  the  preacher,  Avere  at  first  reluctant  to  do  more  than 
forbid  his  preaching.  But  the  passages  in  the  Admoni- 
tion  relating  to  Philip  and  the  Emperor  were  laid 
before  them  in  Latin,  and  they  were  reminded  that  the 


^ 


38  JOHN  KNOX 

Emperor  was  at  that  time  at  Augsburg,  where  rumours 
of  Knox  and  his  pamphlet  might  reach  his  ears.  To 
avoid  all  danger  and  difficulty,  they  required  Knox  to 
leave  the  city.  The  night  before  his  departure  he 
preached  in  his  lodgings  to  a  few  faithful  friends.  Next 
day  these  accompanied  him  several  miles  on  his  way, 
and  "  with  great  heaviness  of  heart  and  plenty  of  tears 
committed  him  to  the  Lord." 


CHAPTER  V. 

SCOTLAND  (1555 — 1556). 

During  the  years  of  Knox's  absence  from  Scotland, 
the  Reformed  doctrines  had  steadily  been  making  way 
amongst  the  people.  Political  conditions  had,  on  the 
whole,  been  favourable.  The  wars  with  England  (1547 — 
1550)  had  distracted  men's  minds  from  their  religious 
differences.  In  1554  came  a  change  of  government. 
The  Earl  of  Arran  was  induced  to  resign  the  regency 
in  favour  of  the  ambitious  and  capable  Queen  Dowager, 
Mary  of  Guise.  Always  facile  and  indolent,  it  cost 
him  little  to  exchange  the  thankless  cares  of  government 
for  an  estate  in  France  and  the  sounding  title  of  Duke 
of  Chatelherault.  But  his  politic,  masterful  brother, 
Archbishop  of  St.  Andrews,  remained  a  watchful 
opponent  of  Mary's  government.  It  became  therefore 
a  distinct  part  of  her  policy  to  conciliate  the  Protestants, 
as  a  counter-weight  to  the  Churchmen  who  might  be 
expected  to  act  under  the  influence  of  the  Primate. 
From  these  causes  persecution  had  practically  ceased. 
From  1550  till  1558  no  one  suffered  in  Scotland  for 
religion.  The  persecution  in  England,  under  Mary 
Tudor,  sent  many  Protestant  preachers  across  the 
Border.      These,  earnest  and  unlettered  men  for  the 


40  JOHN  KNOX 

most  part,  seem  to  have  been  suffered  to  preach  in 
different  parts  of  the  country,  secretly  indeed,  but 
unmolested.  The  Church,  in  truth,  was  during  these 
years  ineffectually  busy  in  trying  to  reform  abuses  in 
her  own  bounds,  and  to  create  zeal  for  learning  in  her 
members.  But  she  had  not  life  enough  to  cast  out  the 
old  evils  and  to  receive  the  new  impulse  ;  she  could 

\  not,  with  all  her  efforts,  regain  the  confidence  of  the 
N  people.  In  lieu  of  the  sermon,  which  not  one  priest 
in  fifty  was  capable  of  preaching,  a  course  of  instruction 
in  the  truths  and  duties  of  religion  had  been  drawn  up 
and  ordered  to  be  read  on  Sundays  in  the  parish 
y^  churches.  This  admirable  compendium  of  religious 
teaching,  known  as  ATclibislioi)  Hamilton's  Catechism, 
failed  entirely  of  its  purpose  ;  it  was  little  read  and 
less  heeded.  The  old  formulas,  the  old  sanctions,  had 
small  interest  for  people  who  refused  to  be  satisfied 
with  anything  short  of  a  new  statement  of  the  relation 
of  man  to  God,  founded  on  the  authority  of  the 
Scriptures. 

It  is  a  fact  curiously  significant  in  the  light  of  later 
history,  that  the  Reformed  doctrines  seem  to  have  been 
accepted  first  amongst  the  humbler  classes.  As  early 
as  1551  a  foreign  divine,  John  ab  Ulmis,  visiting  the 
Scottish  Border  in  the  train  of  the  Earl  of  Dorset,  had 
been  struck  by  this.  "There  appears  to  be  great 
firmness  and  no  little  religion  among  the  people  of 
Scotland,  but  .  .  .  the  chiefs  of  that  nation  resist  and 

^  oppose  the  truth  in  every  possible  way."  But  if  the 
bulk  of  the  Nobility  were  slow  to  receive  the  new 
religious  teaching,  there  was  another  aspect  of  the 
Reformation  of  which  they  were  eagerly  receptive. 
Eight  years  earlier  in  1543,  Arran  had  complained  to 


SCOTLAND  41 

Sadler  that  the  nobles  were  such  firm  Papists  that  they 
would  not  admit  the  Reformation,  "  unless  the  sin  of 
covetousness  bring  them  into  it."  The  "  sin  of  covet- 
ousness "  was  destined  to  play  a  large  part  in  the 
history  of  the  Scottish  Reformation.  Closer  diplomatic 
relations  with  the  wealthy  nobility  of  England  and  the 
magnificent  Court  of  France,  had  made  the  Scottish 
nobles  of  the  sixteenth  century  bitterly  conscious  of 
their  poverty.  On  the  question  of  "  teinds  "  and  the 
scandalous  wealth  of  the  Churchmen,  they  were  prepared 
to  receive  the  new  teaching  with  open  minds. 

While  this  is  true  of  the  majority,  it  is  fair  to  say 
that  there  was  a  minority  whose  acceptance  of  the 
Reformed  teaching  was  the  result  of  sincere  conviction. 
In  1543,  that  shrewd  observer,  Sir  Ralph  Sadler,  had 
noted  that  the  younger  men  were  favourable  to  "  Christ's 
cause,"  though  they  had  then  too  little  influence  or 
experience  to  act  with  effect.  The  young  men  of  1543 
were  the  middle-aged,  influential  men  of  1555.  Sadler 
had  singled  out  the  young  Lord  Kilmaurs  for  his  wit 
and  learning,  as  well  as  for  his  favourable  disposition 
toward  the  Reformation,  In  his  youth  as  Lord 
Kilmaurs  he  had  satirized  the  religious  orders  with  his 
pen ;  now  (1555)  as  Lord  Glencairn  he  was  ready  to 
serve  the  Reformation  with  counsel  and  with  sword. 
Ayrshire — where  his  territorial  influence  was  great — 
had  always  been  a  home  of  heresies;  Ayrshire  lairds, 
Lord  Ochiltree,  Campbell  of  Kinyeancleuch,  and  others, 
were  amongst  the  earliest  and  firmest  Protestants,  On 
tlie  other  side  of  the  country  the  lairds  of  Fife  and  Angus 
were  equally  enlightened.  Amongst  these  the  name  of 
Erskine  of  Dun  was  honourably  known  for  his  services 
to    liberal   education   and    his    devotion    to   the   new 


42  JOHN  KNOX 

doctrines.  A  more  recent  convert  was  the  Earl  of 
Argyle  who  had  received  the  new  teaching  in  his  old 
age,  and  at  his  death  solemnly  charged  his  sou  to 
suppress  superstition  and  set  forward  the  Evangel  of 
Christ  Jesus. 

The  most  remarkable,  however,  of  those  who  favoured 
the  Reformation  were  two  young  men,  William  Mait- 
land  of  Lethington,  Secretary  to  the  Queen  Regent,  and 
Lord  James  Stuart,  an  illegitimate  son  of  James  V. 
The  former  was  once  described  by  Queen  Elizabeth  as 
the  "  finest  wit  of  any  in  Scotland."  In  knowledge  of 
the  world,  in  keen  and  polished  intelligence,  in  personal 
fascination  he  was  the  equal  of  any  at  the  English 
Court.  To  the  blunt,  headlong  judgments  of  his 
countrymen  he  was  a  constant  puzzle.  The  nickname 
of  "  Mitchell  Wylie "  (a  corruption  of  Machiavelli) 
indicates  the  mistrust  with  which  he  was  regarded  by 
the  vulgar.  Even  his  equals  failed  to  see,  in  the 
subtleties  and  changes  of  his  political  course,  his 
adherence  to  one  great  practical  ideal,  the  prosperity 
of  Scotland  through  alliance  with  England.  He  recog- 
nized that  this  ideal  was  incompatible  with  devotion  to 
Rome  and  adherence  to  the  French  alliance.  If  never 
profoundly  influenced  by  religion,  he  saw  clearly,  and 
at  an  early  stage,  the  necessity  of  moderate  reform. 

If  Maitland  was  a  puzzle  to  his  contemporaries, 
Lord  James  from  first  to  last  was  approved  as  an 
honest,  blameless  and  religious  man.  But  for  the 
historical  student,  the  obviously  virtuous  patriot  offers 
a  more  baffling  problem  than  the  obviously  subtle 
diplomatist.  Both  were  zealous  for  the  prosperity  of 
Scotland,  and  sought  to  secure  it  through  alliance  with 
England;   both   favoured   the   Reformation,  but   Lord 


SCOTLAND  43 

James  placed  the  religious  question  before  the  political, 
while  to  Lethiugton  the  religious  question  was  only 
important  in  so  far  as  it  furthered  the  political.  Lord 
James  was  sincerely  convinced  in  the  matter  of  religion ; 
Lethington  had  the  same  ready  acquaintance  with 
current  divinity  as  a  cultivated  politician  of  our  day 
might  have  with  the  theory  of  evolution.  Cecil  said 
once  of  Lord  James  that  he  was  not  unlike  "neither 
in  person  nor  qualities  to  be  a  king's  son."  Perhaps 
the  fact  that  he  was  a  king's  son  is  the  key  to  his 
character.  He  was  greedy  for  power  with  the  not 
ignoble  greed  of  one  who  has  all  the  hereditary 
capacities  and  instincts  of  a  great  ruler.  His  false 
position,  the  nearest  possible  to  the  throne,  yet  divided 
from  it  by  an  impassable  gulf,  made  him  politic,  re- 
served and  subtle.  In  1555  he  was  three-and-twenty 
years  old,  and  had  been  destined  for  the  Church — indeed, 
he  already  bore  the  title  of  Prior  of  St.  Andrews,  and 
enjoyed  the  revenues  of  that  benefice — but  had  de- 
termined against  taking  orders.  He  had  made  Knox's 
acquaintance  in  the  end  of  the  year  1552,  when  he  passed 
through  London  on  his  way  from  France. 

It  was  possibly  by  his  suggestion  that  Knox  was,  in 
the  summer  of  1555,  invited  to  return  to  his  own  country. 
Knox  had  been  nine  years  absent  from  Scotland,  and 
had  apparently  kept  up  little  correspondence  with  any 
friends  there.  So  completely  had  he  identified  his 
interest  and  sentiment  with  England  that  he  could 
write  with  perfect  sincerity,  "  Sometimes  I  have  thought 
that  impossible  it  had  been  so  to  have  removed  my 
affections  from  the  realm  of  Scotland,  that  any  realm 
could  have  been  equally  dear  unto  me  .  .  .  but  God 
I  take  to  witness  .  .  .  that  the  troubles  present  in  the 


44  JOHN  KNOX 

realm   of  England   are  double    more  dolorous   to  my 
heart  than  ever  were  the  troubles  of  Scotland." 

The  quiet  life  of  study  at  Geneva  had  been  grateful 
to  his  soul  after  the  contentions  of  Frankfort,  and  the 
invitation  from  Scotland  found  him  loth  to  leave  "  the 
den  of  his  own  ease."  By  his  own  confession,  his  chief 
motive  in  undertaking  the  journey  was  to  see  Marjorie 
Bowes  and  her  mother.  "  You  alone,"  he  writes  to  the 
latter,  "  did  draw  me  from  the  rest  of  quiet  study."  He 
spent  some  time  in  Berwick,  and  it  was  probably  on  this 
visit  that  he  was  married.  There  is  no  allusion  how- 
ever to  that  event  in  his  letter,  only  a  fervent  thanks- 
giving that  they  two  were  among  the  faithful  daughters 
"  whom  God  had  still  left  in  Sodom."  "  In  the  end  of 
the  harvest  "  he  passed  into  Scotland.  He  was  startled 
by  the  welcome  he  received  in  Edinburgh  among 
brethren,  who  with  "  fervent  thirst  were  night  and  day 
groaning  and  sobbing  for  the  Bread  of  Life."  "  Oh, 
sweet  were  the  death  that  should  follow  such  forty  days 
in  Edinburgh,  as  here  I  have  had  three,"  he  wrote  to 
Mrs.  Bowes ;  and  again,  "  If  I  had  not  seen  it  with  my 
eyes  in  my  own  country,  I  would  not  have  believed  it." 
He  was  indeed  in  "  his  own  country,"  among  a  people 
as  fervid  and  self-willed  as  himself;  a  people  of  strong 
logical  brains  and  tenacious  of  convictions,  and  yet 
easily  moved  by  eloquence  to  tears,  tumult,  or  fierce, 
derisive  laughter.  "  The  trumpet  blew  the  old  sound, 
three  days  together,  till  private  houses  of  indifferent 
largeness  could  not  contain  the  voice  of  it."  It  is 
always  a  war-note  that  Knox  sounds  through  that 
mighty  trumpet  of  his;  "Let  men  prepare  for  the 
battle."  After  all  it  is  the  only  possible  message  for 
men  who,  on  the  morrow,  may  have  to  give  an  account 


SCOTLAND  45 

of  their  faith  before  the  world's  tribunals,  and,  the  day 
after,  bear  witness  to  it  at  the  stake.  To  Knox,  as  to 
Bunyan,  this  world  was  but  the  battle-field  where  God 
and  the  Devil  waged  perpetual  and,  to  the  discerning 
eye,  visible  warfare.  In  his  sermons  he  makes  Christ 
address  Satan  as  the  hero  of  some  primitive  epic  might 
defy  his  antagonist.  "Do  what  thou  canst,  I  shall  not 
flee  the  place  of  battle.  If  thou  become  victor,  thou 
mayst  still  continue  in  possession  of  thy  kingdom.  If 
thou  canst  not  prevail  against  Me,  then  must  thy  prey 
be  taken  from  thee."  It  was  part  of  the  power  of 
Knox's  preaching  that  he  mingled  with  these  concrete 
images  strains  of  mysticism,  as  when  he  assures  the 
faithful  that  their  victory  is  certain,  "  for  in  the  cross 
of  Christ,  always,  is  included  a  secret  and  hid  victory, 
never  well  known  till  the  sufferer  appears  altogether 
exterminate."  It  was  with  such  lofty  consolations  that 
Knox,  in  those  November  days,  ministered  to  the 
troubled  soul  of  a  dying  woman  in  Edinburgh.  "  And 
she,  shortly  thereafter,  slept  in  the  Lord  Jesus  to  the 
no  small  comfort  of  those  who  saw  her  blessed  depart- 
ing." This  scene  in  the  house  of  James  Baron,  burgess 
of  Edinburgh,  has  a  place  in  Knox's  History  as  im- 
portant as  the  deaths  of  kings  or  the  fate  of  empires. 

At  all  hours  of  day  and  night  crowds  resorted  secretly 
to  hear  him  preach  in  some  quiet  corner  of  the  great, 
tall  houses  which  lay  back  from  the  High  Street  in  a 
labyrinth  of  wynds  and  courts;  but  in  public  many 
still  resorted  to  Mass  for  the  avoidance  of  scandal. 
This  matter  was  earnestly  discussed  one  evening,  in  the 
lodgings  of  Erskine  of  Dun,  between  Knox  and  young 
Maitland  of  Lethington.  Lethington,  who,  for  dialec- 
tical purposes,  knew  his  Bible  as  well  as  Knox  himself, 


46  JOHN  KNOX 

defended  this  practice  by  the  example  of  St.  Paul 
paying  his  vows  in  the  Temple.  "  I  greatly  doubt," 
replied  Knox,  with  a  disregard  for  Scriptural  authority 
he  was  never  known  to  permit  to  any  one  but  himself, 
"I  greatly  doubt  whether  James's  commandment  or 
Paul's  obedience  were  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

Knox  was  in  Scotland  all  that  winter ;  as  the  guest 
of  Erskine  of  Dun,  of  Lord  Glencairn  and  others,  he 
travelled  through  Ayrshire,  Angus,  Fife,  and  even  into 
Argyleshire,  preaching  and  celebrating  the  Communion 
in  the  Reformed  manner.  For  some  time  the  authori- 
ties were,  or  feigned  to  be,  ignorant  of  his  movements. 
One  day  it  was  asked  at  Court  Avho  the  preacher  might 
be  who  drew  such  crowds  to  hear  him  at  Ayr.  Some 
suggested  that  it  was  another  English  refugee.  "  Nay,  no 
Englishman,  but  Knox,  that  knave  ! "  cried  the  Bishop 
of  Glasgow  testily.  For  her  own  credit  the  Church 
could  not  afford  to  go  on  ignoring  the  "  runagate  priest," 
who  was  the  friend  and  guest  of  some  of  the  most 
important  men  in  the  country.  Knox  was  accordingly 
summoned  to  appear  at  the  Blackfriars  on  May  15, 
1556;  but  his  appearance  in  Edinburgh  with  a  train  of 
friends  sobered  the  zeal  of  the  Churchmen.  Without 
reason  given  they  let  the  summons  drop,  and  Knox 
thereafter  preached  to  larger  audiences  than  before. 
One  evening  Lord  Glencairn  brought  the  Earl  of 
Marischall  to  hear  him.  It  occurred  to  both  these 
noblemen  that  much  might  be  gained  if  Knox  were  to 
address  a  plea  for  toleration  and  reform  to  the  Queen 
Dowager,  whom  they  believed  to  be  both  candid  and 
moderate  in  her  opinions.  The  result  was  that  Letter 
to  the  Begent,  which  is  one  of  the  least  impressive 
of  Knox's  writings.     He  never  wielded  a  courtly  pen. 


SCOTLAND  47 

His  first  aim  in  addressing  princes  was  always  to  prove 
himself  one  "  of  the  rare  number  that  boldly  and  plainly 
speak  the  native  verity  in  presence  of  their  Princes."  V; 
So  concerned  is  he  with  the  "  plainness "  and  "  bold- 
ness," that  he  almost  neglects  to  expound  the  "  native 
verity."  The  letter  itself  was  full  of  emphasis  and 
menace ;  it  was  not  convincing  nor  persuasive.  It  fell 
moreover  on  the  barrenest  of  soils.  Mary  of  Guise, 
with  frivolous  blindness,  merely  turned  the  letter  into 
ridicule.  "Please  you,  my  Lord,  to  read  a  Pasquill," 
she  said,  handing  the  letter  to  one  of  the  bishops.  It 
was  a  foolish  mockery,  but  is  hardly  worth  the  bitter 
indignation  with  which  Knox  records  it. 

Knox's  stay  in  Scotland  had  been  one  prolonged 
triumph,  but  the  time  was  not  yet  ripe  for  revolution. 
He  himself  seems  hardly  to  have  contemplated  the 
possibility  of  carrying  reform  by  violence.  Early  in 
the  summer  of  1556,  a  call  came  from  the  remnant  of 
his  Frankfort  congregation,  now  collected  at  Geneva. 
This  he  accepted  without  hesitation.  But  before  he 
left  he  was  careful  to  draw  up  instructions  how  the 
faithful,  in  the  absence  of  ministers,  might  edify  and 
confirm  one  another  in  the  faith.  In  their  own  house- 
holds men  are  "  bishops  and  kings,"  "  their  wives, 
children,  servants  and  family,  are  their  bishopric  and 
charge."  For  fear  of  the  old  sophistry  that  as  long  as 
men  worshipped  God  in  private  they  may  bow  to  idols 
in  public,  Knox  is  careful  to  add,  "  Neither  yet  may  ye 
do  this  so  quietly  that  ye  will  admit  no  witness."  He 
had  misgivings  that  this  incitement  to  a  fearless  con- 
fession before  men  came  with  little  weight  from  one 
who  had  suddenly  left  the  country  for  fear  of  perse- 
cution.     He   wrote   from   Geneva    to   certain   "godly 


48  JOHN  KNOX 

sisters"  in  Edinburgh,  "If  any  object  that  I  follow  not 
the  counsel  which  I  give  to  others,  for  my  fleeing  the 
country  declareth  my  fear ;  I  answer,  I  bind  no  man  to 
my  example," 

He  left  Scotland  in  July  1556.  His  wife  and  her 
mother  had  preceded  him  to  Dieppe.  It  was  probably 
for  the  sake  of  the  spiritual  ministrations  of  her  son-in- 
law  that  Mrs.  Bowes  had  taken  the  extraordinary  step 
of  leaving  her  husband  and  remaining  children.  Per- 
haps domestic  life  at  Norham  was  simplified  by  her 
absence. 


CHAPTER  VL 


KNOX'S   POLITICAL   WRITINGS. 


Implicit  in  tlie  teaching  of  the  Reformation,  were 
principles  that  later  centuries  were  to  apply  to  political 
and  social  conditions  with  revolutionary  effect.  Liberty 
of  conscience,  which  was  the  result  of  the  Reformation 
though  not  the  aim  of  the  Reformers,  was  sure  in 
time  to  bring  liberty  of  speech  and  of  action  in  its 
train.  Men  who  believed  themselves  to  be  predestined 
to  fulfil  the  will  of  God  could  no  longer  be  bound  in 
all  things  by  the  will  of  the  temporal  ruler;  on  the 
contrary,  they  found  themselves  often  constrained  to 
oppose  it.  The  teaching  which  laid  an  equal  weight  of 
responsibility  on  each  individual  soul,  allowing  not  even 
the  ignorant  nor  weak  to  confide  their  salvation  to  an 
ecclesiastical  system,  was  bound  sooner  or  later  to  demand 
a  more  equal  share  of  opportunity  for  all  men.  But  it 
was  to  take  several  generations  before  these  principles 
passed  into  the  conscience  and  reason  of  men  and  were 
freely  applied  to  politics.  The  immediate  practical 
effect  of  the  Reformation  was  greatly  to  strengthen  the 
hands  of  the  temporal  ruler.  To  break  the  power  of 
the  Pope  effectually,  the  wide  organization  of  the 
Church  had  to  be  brought  into  obedience  to  the  civil 

E 


50  JOHN   KNOX 

authority.  This  was  done  most  simply  by  trausferriug 
the  spiritual  power  undiminished  from  the  Pope  to  the 
secular  ruler.  The  English  Reformers  were  not  merely 
servile,  they  were  practical  when  they  recognized  the 
Prince  as  supreme  head  of  the  Church.  In  Germany 
also  the  Reformers  looked  to  enlightened  Princes  to 
forward  and  establish  their  work.  Their  Catholic 
opponents  industriously  accused  the  Reformers  of 
desiring  "  to  subvert  order  and  government  ...  to 
abolish  all  laws,  destroy  the  distinctions  of  rank  and 
property,  and,  in  short,  turn  all  things  upside-down." 
It  Avas  their  anxiety  to  disarm  these  accusers  that  lay 
at  the  root  of  the  harshness  with  which  the  Reformers 
denounced  the  sedition  of  the  Anabaptist  movement 
and  the  Peasants'  Rising.  Even  Luther  denied  the 
peasant  blood  that  was  in  him  and  urged  on  the  nobles 
to  vengeance.  It  is  as  surprising  to  find  Calvin 
cautiously  and  almost  abjectly  conservative,  as  to  find 
Luther  harsh  and  narrow ;  but  it  is  not  the  less  true, 
that  the  man  who  formulated  the  religious  creed  of 
Cromwell  and  Milton,  preached,  in  matters  political, 
nothing  more  heroic  than  passive  obedience.  "  If  we 
keep  before  our  minds,"  he  writes,  "  the  fact  that  even 
the  most  iniquitous  kings  are  appointed  by  the  same 
decree  which  establishes  all  regal  authority,  we  will  never 
entertain  the  seditious  thought,  that  a  king  is  to  be 
treated  according  to  his  deserts,  and  that  we  are  not 
bound  to  act  the  part  of  good  subjects  to  him  who 
does  not  in  his  turn  act  the  part  of  a  king  to  us." 
In  his  theology  Knox  was  content  to  be  a  mouth- 
piece of  the  ideas  of  Calvin  ;  in  his  political  convic- 
tions he  repudiated  the  cautious  counsels  of  his 
master.     He  came  of  a  race  where  personal  independ- 


KNOX'S   POLITICAL  WKITINGS  51 

ence  was  a  passion  with  the  lowest  as  with  the  highest. 
As  a  student  in  Major's  class-room  in  Glasgow,  there 
had  rung  in  his  ears  sentences  like  these,  "That 
which  is  generally  called  nobility  is  a  windy  thing  of 
human  devising.  There  is  absolutely  no  true  nobility, 
but  virtue  and  the  evidence  of  virtue."  Even  in 
England  under  Edward  VI,  where  the  power  of  the 
Crown  was  used  to  forward  the  cause  he  loved,  Knox 
had  grown  restive  under  its  authority.  **  For,  what 
then  was  heard,"  he  cries  impatiently,  "  but  *  the 
King's  proceedings,  the  King's  proceedings  must  be 
obeyed.  It  is  enacted  in  Parliament,  therefore  it  must 
be  obeyed.' "  At  Mary's  accession  he  had  seen  Eng- 
land "  set  forth  for  a  prey  to  foreign  nations,  the  blood 
of  the  members  of  Jesus  Christ  most  cruelly  to  be  shed, 
and  the  monstrous  empire  of  a  cruel  Avoman  to  be  the 
only  occasion  of  all  these  miseries."  Indignation  set 
his  mind  to  work  fiercely  on  the  wdiole  questiun  of 
submission  to  the  temporal  ruler.  Himself  unlearned 
and  comparatively  obscure,  he  turned  for  guidance  to 
the  men  of  weight  and  wisdom.  He  addressed  to 
Bullinger  questions  on  the  limits  of  obedience  to  the 
ruler  in  things  spiritual,  and  on  the  lawfulness  of  femi- 
nine rule.  The  answers  of  BulHnger  were  extremely 
prudent ;  men  must  be^vare  of  acting  with  precipitancy, 
lest  they  occasion  mischance  to  many  worthy  persons. 
On  the  whole  he  seems  to  be  of  the  opinion,  "  that  it  is 
a  hazardous  thing  for  godly  persons  to  set  themselves 
in  opposition  to  political  regulations."  When  Knox 
was  in  Scotland  in  1555-56,  he  persuaded  himself 
that  the  whole  community  was  eager  to  receive  the 
new  teaching  and  that  the  main  obstruction  lay  in  the 
obstinacy  and  frivolity  of  the  ruler,  and  that  ruler  a 


52  JOHN   KNOX 

woman  !     He  returned  to  Geneva  with  mucli  food  for 
thought.  ' 

In  May  1557  two  of  Knox's  Edinburgh  friends 
arrived  in  Geneva  bearing  a  letter  signed  by  Glencairn, 
Lome,  Lord  James  Stewart,  and  Erskine  of  Dun.^  It 
urged  him  to  return  to  Scotland,  and  in  October  he 
left  his  household  and  church  at  Geneva.  In  the  in- 
terval his  friends  in  Scotland  had  seen  reasons  to  with- 
draw from  the  bold  policy  they  had  adopted.  On  his 
arrival  at  Dieppe  in  the  end  of  October  Knox  was  met 
by  letters  from  them  containing  the  mortifying  injunc- 
tion to  proceed  no  further  on  his  journey.  In  indigna- 
tion he  wrote  to  the  Nobility  of  Scotland  the  shortest 
but  the  most  dignified  and  trenchant  of  all  his  letters. 
He  resents  the  personal  slight :  how  should  he — being 
thus  rejected — return  without  shame  to  the  godly  and 
learned  men  at  Geneva  by  whose  advice  he  had 
accepted  the  invitation  ?  Still  more  keenly  he  feels  the 
injury  done  to  his  people  at  Geneva.  It  had  been  no 
light  matter  to  him  to  leave  his  "  small  (but  to  Christ 
dearly-beloved)  flock."  Was  he  to  have  undergone  all 
his  sorrow  for  a  cajarice  ?  But  his  chief  concern  is  the 
destruction  that  must  fall  on  the  Scottish  noblemen 
themselves,  if  they  thus  play  fast-and-loose  with  the 
salvation,  "  not  of  one  or  two  but,  as  it  were,  of  a  whole 
nation."  On  them  he  throws  all  responsibility.  "  For 
only  for  that  cause  are  ye  called  princes  of  the  people, 
and  ye  receive  of  your  brethren  honour,  tribute  and 
homage  at  God's  commandment ;  not  by  reason  of  your 
birth  and  progeny  .  .  .  but  by  reason  of  your  office 
and   duty,   which   is   to   vindicate   your   subjects   and 

^  It  is  doubtful  wliether  the  fourth  name  on  the  list  is  the 
simiature  of  Lord  Erskine  or  of  Erskine  of  Dun. 


KNOX'S  POLITICAL  WRITINGS  53 

brethren  from  all  violence  and  oppression,  to  the  utter- 
most of  your  power."  His  letter  served  its  purpose  ;  it 
stung  the  prudent  deliberation  of  the  Scotch  Protestant 
Lords  into  resolute  and  responsible  action.  On  the 
third  of  December  (1557)  the  former  subscribers,  Lome, 
Glencairn,  Lord  James,  Erskine  of  Dun,  and  Morton  drew 
up  a  paper  binding  themselves  to  defend  Christ's  cause 
and  to  support  His  ministers,  with  all  their  power  and 
even  at  the  risk  of  their  lives.  From  this  first  solemn 
bond  or  covenant  the  subscribers  received  the  name  of 
"  Lords  of  the  Congregation." 

It  is  noticeable  that  Knox's  letter  to  these  Lords 
contained  no  reference  to  the  Regent.  His  convictions 
with  regard  to  the  authority  of  princes  were  growing 
menacingly  revolutionary.  Whilst  he  was  at  Dieppe 
came  news  of  a  cruel  assault  on  the  Protestants  in 
Paris,  begun  indeed  by  the  mob,  but  sanctioned  and 
completed  by  the  responsible  action  of  the  Government. 
"  In  a  few  words  to  speak  my  conscience,"  he  breaks  out 
impatiently,  "  the  regiment  of  princes  is  this  day  come 
to  that  heap  of  iniquity  that  no  godly  man  can  enjoy 
office  or  authority  under  them.  And  what  must  follow 
hereof,  either  that  princes  be  reformed  and  be  compelled 
also  to  reform  their  wicked  laws,  or  else  that  all  good 
men  depart  from  their  service  and  company." 

In  1558  when  Knox  was  again  at  Geneva,  he  wrote 
another  solemn  appeal  to  the  whole  Nobility  of  Scot- 
land, urging  them  to  take  the  control  of  the  spiritual 
power  into  their  own  hands.  He  warns  them  that  it 
shall  by  no  means  serve  them  as  an  excuse  to  plead  that 
they  are  bound  to  obey  the  Prince.  "Your  duty,"  he 
writes,  "  is  to  hear  the  voice  of  the  Eternal,  your  God, 
y  and  unfeignedly  to  study  to  follow  His  precepts."     It  is 


54  JOHN   KNOX 

part  of  the  very  fluty  tliey  owe  to  the  king,  he  tells 
them,  "  to  correct  and  repress  whatsoever  ye  know  liim 
to  attempt  expressedly  repugnant  to  God's  Word  .  .  . 
or  what  ye  shall  espy  him  to  do,  be  it  by  ignorance,  or 
be  it  by  malice,  against  his  subjects  great  or  small." 
Such  counsels  would  be  very  apt  to  "cause  mischance 
to  many  worthy  persons,"  but  probably  Knox  was  grow- 
ing tired  of  the  prudent  pusillanimity  of  his  brethren 
and  fathers  in  the  faith.  He  does  not  disguise  his 
contempt.  "  Now  the  common  song  of  all  men  is,  '  "We 
must  obey  our  kings,  be  they  good  or  be  they  bad ;  for 
God  has  so  commanded.'"  Not  content  with  this 
ajDpeal  to  the  Nobles  of  Scotland,  Knox,  with  a  courage 
and  originality  all  his  own,  appeals  to  the  conscience  of 
the  nation  as  a  whole.  The  simple  people,  as  much  as 
"  kings,  judges,  rulers,  and  nobles,"  are,  he  declares, 
responsible  for  the  dominant  iniquity,  as  long  as  they 
fail  to  resist  it  to  the  utmost.  "  Beloved  brethren, 
ye  are  all  God's  creatures."  In  this  fact  lies  "  the 
equality  which  is  between  kings  and  subjects,  the 
most  rich  and  noble,  and  the  poorest  and  men  of  low 
estate."  And  this  equality  carries  equal  responsibility. 
"  For  the  Gospel  ...  is  the  power  of  God  to  the  sal- 
vation of  every  believer,  Avhich  to  credit  and  receive, 
you,  the  Commonalty,  are  no  less  indebted  than  be 
your  rulers  and  princes."  "  If  your  superiors,"  he  con- 
tinues in  the  words  as  well  as  the  spirit  of  a  revolution- 
ist, "  be  negligent,  or  pretend  to  maintain  tyrants  in 
their  tyranny,  justly  ye  may  provide  true  teachers  for 
yourselves,  ye  may  maintain  and  defend  them  .  .  .  Ye 
may,  moreover,  withhold  the  fruits  and  profits  which 
your  false  Bishops  and  Clergy,  most  unjustlv,  receive  of 

you." 


KNOX'S  POLITICAL  WRITINGS  55 

After  all  he  was  not  concerned  to  establish  abstract 
principles  of  liberty  and  equality ;  it  was  enough  for 
him  that  the  Gospel  was  crushed  in  England  and 
excluded  from  Scotland  by  the  will  of  two  sovereigns. 
Now  it  happened  that  both  these  obstructive  rulers 
were  women.  Catching  at  the  idea  that  such  a  rule 
was  an  anomaly,  Knox  had  persuaded  himself  that  it 
was  forbidden  by  the  Scriptures. 

Some  time  in  the  winter  of  1557,  he  had  gone  pri- 
vately to  consult  Calvin  on  this  question.  The  inter- 
view was  disappointing.  Calvin  understood  his  Bible 
too  well  to  force  such  meanings  on  the  text  and  he  was 
too  prudent  to  wish  to  apply  such  ideas  to  existing 
politics.  "  It  would  not  be  lawful,"  he  explained  to  his 
unwilling  disciple,  "  to  unsettle  governments  which  are 
ordained  by  the  peculiar  providence  of  God."  Knox 
was  unconvinced.  He  went  home  to  study  the  Scrip- 
tures and  to  twist  them,  with  the  perverse  logic  of 
prejudice,  to  fit  his  own  views ;  to  brood  on  the  iniqui- 
ties of  the  two  Queens  ;  and — in  a  household  of  admiring- 
women — to  convince  himself  of  the  immeasurable 
superiority  of  men  ! 

Early  in  1558  appeared  The  First  Blast  of  the  Trumpet 
against  the  monstrous  Begiment  of  Women.  Unlike  all 
his  other  writings  it  appeared  anonymously.  Warned 
perhaps  by  the  dire  results  to  the  faithful  of  his 
Admonition  (1554),  he  feared  to  bring  down  disaster  on 
bis  little  flock  in  Geneva,  The  argument  of  this  famous 
pamphlet  is  singularly  inconclusive.  Catholicism  had 
unduly  and  perhaps  artificially  exalted  all  women  with 
the  Blessed  Virgin ;  the  Reformation  abased  them  into 
their  proper  position  with  Eve.  In  her  greatest  per- 
fection, woman  was  made  to  serve  and  obey  man ;  after 


56  JOHN  KNOX 

the  curse  pronounced  against  her,  she  is  to  be  in  "  com- 
plete bondage  to  man";  her  main  duty  and  privilege 
is  "  daily,  to  humble  and  subject  herself,"  and  "  to  abhor 
whatever  might  exalt  her  or  puff  her  up  with  pride," 
It  was  quite  necessary  that  such  sweeping  statements 
should  be  clearly  supported  by  the  Word.  Now,  Knox 
could  not  ignore  the  fact  that  there  were  certain 
Scripture  precedents  distinctly  against  him.  Huldah 
and  Deborah  were  difficult  facts  to  get  over — fortun- 
ately so,  as  it  turned  out.  Knox's  evasion  of  the 
difficulty  can  hardly  be  called  successful :  he  declares 
these  to  be  miraculous  instances  on  which  no  general 
law  can  be  grounded,  and  expects  that  this  halting 
argument  will  "  be  sufficient  for  reasonable  and  moderate 
spirits,"  The  real  interest  and  value  of  this  remark- 
able work  lies,  not  in  strained  arguments  against  an 
accidental  state  of  things,  but  in  the  revolutionary 
spirit  which  glows  in  its  pages,  "  The  sound  of  our 
weak  trumpet  may,"  he  says  in  the  preface,  "by  the 
support  of  some  wind  (blow  it  from  the  south  or  blow 
it  from  the  north,  it  is  no  matter),  come  to  the  ears  of 
the  chief  offenders.  But,  whether  it  do  or  not,  we 
dare  not  cease  to  blow  as  God  will  give  strength.  For 
we  are  debtors  to  more  than  to  princes,  to  wit,  to  the 
imtltitiide  of  our  brethren."  Knox  is  already  dreaming 
of  a  day  of  deliverance  from  secular  tyranny :  "  Let 
not  the  faithful,  godly,  and  valiant  hearts  of  Christ's 
soldiers  be  utterly  discouraged,  neither  yet  let  tyrants 
rejoice."  Not  by  a  miracle  is  this  deliverance  to  be 
wrought,  far  less  by  the  passive  endurance  of  a  perse- 
cuted Church,  but  by  some  "  noble  heart "  whom  God 
shall  raise  up  to  vindicate  the  liberty  of  his  country. 
The  First  Blast  was  published  in  the  spring  of  1558, 


KNOX'S  POLITICAL  WRITINGS  57 

find  in  the  following  autumn  Mary  Tudor  died,  and 
Elizabeth,  the  hope  and  the  mainstay  of  the  Protestants, 
ascended  the  English  throne.  This  fact  is  the  coni- 
pletest  and  the  most  ironical  comment  upon  Knox's 
arguments  against  the  "  Regiment  of  Women."  The 
echoes  of  that  ill-timed  Blast  were  to  ring  in  his  ears 
all  his  life. 

Before  Knox  finally  left  Geneva,  in  the  spring  of 
1559,  he  had  written  his  one  theological  work,  the 
Answer  to  Blasphemous  Cavillations  urittcn  hy  an  Ana- 
baptist and  Adversary  to  God's  Mernal  Predestination. 
This  work  is  remarkable  as  being  .the  only  writing  of 
Knox's  which  is  entirely  unreadable  by  the  ordinary 
layman.  Open  the  treatise  where  he  will,  the  argu- 
ment always  appears  to  him  to  be  at  the  same  point,  and 
that  point  the  lofty  and  inscrutable  commonplace  of 
Calvinism  which  declares  that  "  God,  in  His  eternal  and 
immutable  counsels,  hath  once  appointed  and  decreed 
whom  He  would  take  to  salvation,  and  whom  also  He 
would  leave  in  ruin  and  perdition." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

BEGINNING   OF   THE   CIVIL   WAR   IN   SCOTLAND. 

A  QUEEN,  suiToimded  by  complacent  courtiers,  is  ill 
fitted  for  measuring  the  force  of  a  great  popular  move- 
ment. It  is  always  difficult  for  a  woman  to  recognize 
that  the  facts  of  life  are  hostile  to  her  expectations.  In 
the  sixteenth  century  it  was  impossible  for  a  ruler  to 
believe  that  his  or  her  authority  could  be  set  aside  by 
the  will  of  the  people  ;  nor  could  a  daughter  of  the  great 
Catholic  house  of  Guise  be  easily  brought  to  fear  that 
the  power  of  the  Church  could  be  seriously  menaced  by 
upstart  preachers.  To  these  disabilities  Mary  of  Guise 
added  the  grave  disadvantage  of  being  an  alien  ruling 
over  a  fiercely  independent  people.  Her  enemies  can 
hardly  deny  her  capacity  as  a  ruler,  but  they  accuse 
her  truly  of  governing  Scotland  in  the  interests  of 
France.  Responsible  posts  were  bestowed  on  French- 
men;  her  efforts  to  establish  a  standing  army  and  to 
regulate  taxation  had  not  only  made  her  rule  unpopular, 
bvit  had  thrown  suspicion  on  the  French  alliance  itself. 
So  little  did  she  understand  the  strength  of  the  religious 
movement  that  was  every  day  more  markedly  dividing 
the  country  into  two  hostile  parties,  that  she  tried  to 
heal  the  breach  by  favours  and  banquetings  and  fair 
words. 


BEGINNING  OF  THE  CIVIL   WAR  IN  SCOTLAND    59 

Slie  pursued  this  policy  with  both  parties  all  through 
the  year  1558.  Her  daughter  had  married  tlie  Dauphin 
in  April,  but  the  French  Court  could  not  be  satisfied 
unless  the  crown  of  Scotland  was  secured  to  the  French 
Prince  as  inalienabty  as  to  his  wife.  To  obtain  th3 
"  Crown  Matrimonial "  for  her  son-in-law,  the  Reefent 
had  to  use  craft  with  both  parties ;  promising  the 
Churchmen  that  if  this  suit  were  granted  her  she  would 
put  an  end  to  "  these  heretics  and  confederates  of 
England " ;  promising  the  Protestants  that  she  would 
gladly  consent  to  reformation  in  religion  if  they  would 
support  her  plea  against  the  Churchmen,  the  Bishop 
of  St.  Andre Avs,  and  the  house  of  Hamilton. 

The  two  religious  parties  were  almost  evenly  balanced 
in  the  State;  but  the  Protestants  were  daily  gaining 
in  confidence  and  popular  estimation.  There  were 
ominous  signs  that  the  common  people  understood 
enough  of  the  new  doctrines  to  have  a  restless  and 
irritated  sense  that  they  had  been  wronged  and  deceived 
by  the  Church.  In  various  places  they  had  seized  and 
destroyed  images  of  the  saints ;  the  citizens  of  Edinburgh 
had  first  burnt  their  patron,  St.  Giles,  and  then  flung 
him  into  the  Nor'loch.  When  his  festival  recurred  on 
September  1,  1558,  the  Churchmen  had  procured  a 
new  image,  and  the  Queen  Regent  herself  joined  in 
solemn  procession  through  the  town.  But  when  she, 
as  was  her  frank,  affable  habit,  had  gone  to  dine 
with  one  of  the  citizens,  the  fierce  humour  and  indig- 
nation of  the  Edinburgh  mob  burst  forth,  and  a  riot 
beginning  with  rough  laughter,  ended  with  cracked 
crowns,  and  Churchmen  fleeing  for  their  lives. 

Nor  was  evidence  wanting  that  there  were  men  of 
skill  and  conviction  directing  the  irritated  feelings  of 


60  JOHN  KNOX 

the  populace.  On  January  1,  1559,  there  appeared, 
stuck  on  gates  of  all  the  friars'  places,  a  singular  paper 
purporting  to  come  from  "  the  blind,  crooked,  beggars, 
widows,  and  all  other  poor,"  accusing  the  friars  of  having 
"  falsely  stolen  the  wealth  given  by  the  pious  for  the 
service  of  the  poor,"  and  ending  with  this  significant 
note  of  menace,  "We  have  thought  good  therefore  to 
warn  you  .  .  .  that  ye  remove  forth  of  our  said  hospitals 
betwixt  this  and  the  feast  of  Whitsunday  next  .  .  . 
Certifying  you,  if  ye  fail,  we  will  at  the  said  term,  in 
whole  number  {with  the  hel2J  of  Ood  and  assistance  of 
His  saints  on  earth,  of  whose  ready  su2Jport  we  douht  not) 
enter  and  take  possession  of  our  said  patrimony  and 
eject  you  utterly  forth  of  the  same."  As  it  turned  out, 
this  threat  was  literally  fulfilled. 

On  March  2,  the  Provincial  Council  of  the  Church 
met  for  the  last  time  in  Scotland.  Never  were  men 
more  in  earnest  to  set  a  house  in  order  that  was  already 
tottering  to  its  fall.  They  had  in  the  preceding  Novem- 
ber rejected  the  reasonable  terms  of  the  Protestant 
Lords.  But  now  at  the  eleventh  hour  they  tried  in 
all  haste  to  carry  out  internal  reforms  of  such  strictness 
that  their  only  result  was  to  send  many  waverers  into 
the  opposite  camp. 

It  was  unfortunate  also  that  the  Queen  Regent 
chose  this  precise  moment  to  depart  from  the  tolerant, 
non-committal  course  she  had  hitherto  held  in  religious 
questions.  Her  policy  was  at  all  times  dictated  by  the 
French  Court.  A  peace,  known  as  the  Peace  of 
Cateau-Cambr^sis  (April  2,  1559),  had  just  been 
concluded  between  France,  England,  and  Spain.  To 
conciliate  the  latter  power  the  French  Government 
had  determined  on  strong  measures  against  the  Reform- 


BEGINNING   OF  THE  CIVIL   WAR  IN  SCOTLAND    61 

ation,  aud  the  Scottish  Regent  received  orders  from 
her  brothers,  the  Duke  of  Guise  and  the  Cardinal  of 
Lorraine,  to  suppress  the  Congregation. 

In  the  districts  where  the  Lords  of  the  Congregation 
were  dominant — such  as  Fife,  Angus,  Mearns,  and  the 
Westland — Protestant  ministers  had  preached  openly, 
hitherto  unmolested ;  suddenly  Mary  of  Guise  sum- 
moned them  to  appear  before  the  Council  at  Stirling, 
on  May  10,  1559.  "  They  shall  be  banished  out  of 
Scotland,  albeit  they  preach  as  truly  as  ever  did  St. 
Paul,"  she  is  reported  (but  only  by  Knox)  to  have 
exclaimed. 

In  the  beginning  of  May  the  Protestant  gentlemen  of 
Angus  and  Mearns  and  the  citizens  of  Dundee  resolved 
to  accompany  their  preachers  before  the  Council  at 
Stirling.  They  claimed  to  come  as  "  peaceable  men 
minding  only  to  give  confession  with  their  preachers," 
and,  except  Erskine  of  Dun,  they  could  not  boast  of  men 
of  rank  or  importance  among  their  numbers.  They  had 
however  been  reinforced  by  the  strongest  will,  the 
stoutest  voice,  and  the  most  passionate  heart  in 
Scotland. 

On  May  2,  John  Knox  arrived  in  Edinburgh.  He 
had  hoped  to  arrive  sooner,  but  at  Dieppe  his  journey 
had  been  stayed.  To  his  imfeigned  surprise  he  learned 
that  his  First  Blast  had  so  inflamed  the  heart  of  the 
English  Queen  against  him,  that  not  only  was  free 
passage  through  England  denied  him,  but  the  friends 
who  had  requested  it  on  his  behalf  barely  escaped 
imprisonment.  The  letter  he  addressed  to  Cecil  on  the 
subject  was  hardly  calculated  to  mend  matters.  He 
,  reminds  the  Secretary  that  his  "  terrible  defection  from 
i  the  truth  known  "  had  rendered  him  "  worthy  of  Hell," 


62  JOHN   KNOX 

and  enjoins  on  him  to  signify  to  that  "  intirm  vessel," 
Queen  Elizabeth,  that  only  by  "  humility  and  dejection 
of  herself  before  God,"  can  she  secure  the  stability  of 
her  throne,  "  the  which  I  know  shall  be  assaulted  more 
ways  than  one." 

Knox  doubtless  alluded  to  the  fact  that  the  French 
Court "ivas  slow  to  acknowledge  Elizabeth's  right  to  the 
English  throne,  and  had  encouraged  Mary  Stuart  to 
assume  the  arms  of  England.  He  had  a  singular  con- 
firmation of  these  designs  against  Elizabeth  in  his 
voyage  from  Dieppe  to  Edinburgh.  A  fellow-traveller 
on  board  showed  him,  in  great  secrecy,  a  staff  with  the 
arms  of  England  engraved  on  it,  which  he  was  bringing 
as  a  present  to  the  Queen  Regent.  The  fact  was  carefully 
noted  by  Knox  and  six  months  later  used  as  an  argu- 
ment to  persuade  the  English  Queen  that  her  interests 
were  identical  with  those  of  Mary's  rebellious  subjects. 

On  his  arrival  in  Edinburgh  Knox  learned  that  the 
brethren  were  assembled  to  defend  their  preachers.  "  I 
am  come,  I  praise  God,"  he  writes  to  his  favourite 
correspondent,  Mrs.  Anna  Locke,  "  even  in  the  brunt  of 
the  battle."  "  If  God  impede  not,"  he  intended  to 
present  himself  with  his  fellow-preachers  before  the 
Queen  and  Council ;  "  there,  by  life,  by  death,  or  else 
by  both  to  glorify  His  godly  name,  who  thus  mercifully 
hath  heard  my  long  cries."  He  joined  the  brethren  at 
Dundee,  and  thence  the  whole  party  marched  to  Perth, 
where  the  Protestant  interest  was  strong. 

To  avoid  the  suspicion  of  rebellion,  the  Protestants 
decided  to  send  Erskine  of  Dun  to  Stirling  to  negotiate 
with  the  Queen.  His  gentle,  conciliatory  character 
made  him  easy  to  deal  with,  easy  also  to  be  deceived. 
Mary  was  alarmed  at  the  numbers  and  resolution  of  the 


BEGINNING  OF  THE  CIVIL   WAR  IN  SCOTLAND    63 

Protestants.  Slie  promised  to  postpone  the  summons 
if  they  would  disperse ;  but,  when  the  danger  seemed 
imst,  she  adhered  to  her  former  policy.  On  the  10th 
the  preachers  were  cited,  and  not  appearing,  Avere  "  put 
to  the  horn  "  (outlawed).  The  Protestants  of  Perth  had 
mistrusted  her  fair  speeches ;  the  preachers,  at  least, 
were  more  indignant  than  surprised  when  Erskine  of 
Dun  returned  on  the  11th  with  the  full  account  of 
her  treachery.  "  Which  understood,  the  multitude 
were  so  inflamed  that  neither  could  the  exhorta- 
tion of  the  preachers  nor  the  commandments  of  the 
magistrate  stay  them  from  destroying  the  places  of 
idolatry."  Such  is  the  description  in  Knox's  History  of 
the  riot  in  Perth,  where  images  were  broken,  churches 
gutted,  and  the  houses  of  the  Black  and  Grey  Friars 
plundered  and  destroyed.  This  deliberate  account  was 
written  several  months  after  the  event,  but  there  is  no 
mistaking  the  exultation  which  throbs  through  a  letter 
written  immediately  after  the  riot  to  Mrs.  Locke.  "  The 
brethren  sought  the  next  remedy  .  .  .  and  .  .  .  put-to 
their  hands  to  reformation  in  St.  Johnstouu,  where  the 
places  of  idolatry  .  .  .  were  made  equal  to  the  ground ; 
all  monuments  of  idolatry  that  could  be  apprehended, 
consumed  with  fire ;  and  priests  commanded,  under 
pain  of  death,  to  desist  from  their  blasphemous  Mass." 
After  such  words  from  Knox's  own  pen,  it  is  surely  a 
waste  of  pious  zeal  to  try  to  lay  the  blame  of  all 
excesses  on  the  "rascal  multitude." 

News  of  these  riots  fell  like  a  thunderclap  on  the 
Court  at  Stirling;  the  Churchmen,  "  rowping  like 
ravens,"  clamoured  for  vengeance ;  the  Queen  vowed 
to  destroy  St.  Johnstoun  with  every  man,  woman  and 
child  in  it ;  the  very  Lords  of  the  Congregation  hung 


64  JOHN .  KNOX 

back,  alarmed  at  the  sight  of  open  rebellion.  The 
wealth  of  the  Church,  the  authority  of  the  Crown,  the 
small  but  disciplined  body  of  French  troops,  the  strength 
afforded  by  the  French  alliance,  all  were  arrayed  against 
the  Protestants  at  Perth.  Knox's  courage  was  always  the 
higher,  his  voice  always  sounded  the  clearer,  in  moments 
of  public  danger  or  defeat.  From  the  camp  at  Perth 
letters  were  dispatched  to  the  Regent,  to  the  Frenchmen 
in  her  service,  to  the  Churchmen,  and  to  the  Nobility  ; 
every  burning  line  in  these  breathes  the  spirit  of  Knox. 
The  message  to  Mary  is  full  of  menace ;  so  lightly  is 
the  awful  power  of  the  king  regarded  in  the  Councils 
of  Perth,  "  that  it  is  to  be  feared  that  neither  her  Grace 
nor  yet  her  posterity  shall,  after  this,  find  that  obedience 
and  faithful  service  "  which  till  then  has  been  found  in 
the  Scottish  people.  In  the  short  letter  to  the  French- 
men there  is  audible  the  muttering  of  that  suspicion 
and  jealousy,  which  for  the  past  few  years  the  Scottish 
people  had  been  transferring  from  "  the  auld  enemy," 
England,  to  the  ancient  ally,  France.  The  letter  to 
the  Churchmen  is  a  sheer  declaration  of  hostility, 
addressed  "  to  the  generation  of  Antichrist,  the  pesti- 
lent Prelates,  and  their  shavelings  in  Scotland."  But 
Knox's  real  message  is  to  the  Nobility  of  Scotland.  In 
his  letter  to  these  he  is  too  intent  on  carrying  conviction 
to  indulge  in  scurrility  or  violence.  From  the  opponents 
of  the  Protestants,  men  like  the  Hamiltons  and  Huntley, 
he  demands  that  no  compliance  with  the  corrupt  will 
of  the  Sovereign  shall  persuade  them  to  condemn  their 
countrymen  unheard,  but  that  they  shall  fairly  try  the 
lives  and  doctrines  of  the  Protestants  by  the  Word  of 
God.  In  a  strain  of  more  solemn  warning,  he  addresses 
those  who  had  once  professed  Christ,  whose  names  were 


BEGINNING  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR  IN  SCOTLAND    65 

appended  to  the  Common  Bond  of  1557,  men  like  Lord 
James  and  Argyle  who  were  hesitating  to  break  with 
the  Court,  or  like  Morton,  intent  at  this  crisis,  as  at 
every  other  moment  of  his  evil  life,  upon  his  selfish 
interest.  Knox  had  most  emphatically  claimed  for  the 
Reformed  Church  the  right  of  excommunication.  At 
this  moment,  when  "  Christ's  true  Kirk "  in  Scotland 
was  represented  by  half-a-dozen  preachers  and  their 
followers,  he  threatened  to  use  this  power  against  the 
only  men  from  whom  efficient  support  could  be  expected. 
"  Unless  ye  join  yourselves  with  us,"  he  writes,  "  as  of 
God  ye  are  reputed  traitors,  so  shall  ye  be  excommuni- 
cated from  our  society.  The  glory  of  the  victory 
which  God  shall  give  to  His  Church,  yea,  even  in  the 
eyes  of  men,  shall  not  appertain  to  you."  This  letter 
passed  like  a  fiery  cross  among  the  faithful  in  all  parts 
of  the  country ;  when  it  was  read  aloud  in  the  church 
of  Craigie  in  Ayrshire  the  Earl  of  Glencairn,  moved  in 
heart  and  conscience,  rose  up  and  said,  "  Let  every  man 
serve  his  conscience.  I  will,  by  God's  grace,  see  my 
brethren  in  St.  Johnstoun ;  yea,  albeit  never  a  man 
should  accompany  me,  I  will  go,  and  if  it  were  but  with 
a  pike  upon  my  shoulder ;  for  I  had  rather  die  with 
that  company  than  live  after  them." 

The  arrival  of  a  contingent  of  stout  *'  professors " 
from  Ayrshire  under  this  gallant  nobleman  strengthened 
the  little  company  in  Perth  so  mightily  that  they  were 
able  to  make  terms  with  the  Regent.  They  consented 
to  leave  the  town  and  to  disperse  to  their  houses  on 
condition  that  no  one  should  suffer  for  the  late  disturb- 
ances, and  that  all  questions  of  religion  should  be  con- 
sidered in  the  next  Parliament.  Neither  side  expected 
nor  indeed  wished  for  a  permanent  peace.   The  Regent, 


U 


^ 


ee  JOHN  KNOX 

convinced  that  rebellion  not  religion  was  aimed  at,  held 
herself  bound  to  keep  faith  with  heretics,  only  as  long 
as  it  suited  her  convenience.  The  preachers  openly 
affirmed  that  the  Queen  meant  no  truth.  They  advised 
their  hearers  to  consent  to  an  appointment  merely  to 
"stop  the  mouths  of  their  adversaries,"  and  to  "suffer 
hypocrisy  to  discover  itself." 

On  May  29,  the  Queen  with  her  troops  marched  into 
Perth.  According  to  the  expectations  and  hopes  of  the 
Protestants,  she  soon  broke  the  terms — at  least  a  child 
accidentally  killed,  and  the  Mass  celebrated  on  a  dicing- 
table  in  default  of  an  altar,  could  be  thus  interpreted. 
Lord  James  and  the  Earl  of  Argyle — he  had  been  Lord 
Lome  when  he  signed  the  bond  in  1557 — convinced  of 
the  Queen's  bad  faith,  had  now  no  scruples  in  openly 
putting  themselves  at  the  head  of  the  Protestants. 
They  with  their  followers  withdrew  to  St.  Andrews, 
and  required  the  other  leaders  of  their  party  to  join 
them  on  June  4,  "for  reformation  to  be  made  there." 
Knox  was  already  busy,  "making  reformation"  in  the 
neighbouring  seaports  of  Grail  and  Anstruther.  After 
sermon,  stout  traders  and  seamen  "also  put  to  their 
hand,"  and  reformed  their  churches  in  what  a  decorous 
English  bishop  describes  as  "  a  somewhat  Scythian 
manner." 

But  the  goal  of  Knox's  wishes  was  St.  Andrews.  He 
took  his  own  prophecies  very  seriously.  Again  and 
again  they  supplied  motives  for  their  own  fulfilmenti 
In  the  darkest  days  in  the  galley  he  had  been  assured 
that  he  would  again  preach  Christ  in  that  place.  His 
friends  doubted  the  prudence  of  allowing  him  to  preach 
on  Sunday,  June  11.  Archbishop  Hamilton  had  arrived 
in  the  town  the  night  before  with  a  hundred  armed 


BEGINNING  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR  IN  SCOTLAND    67 

men,  and  angrily  forbade  the  outlawed  preacher  to  ap- 
pear in  his  pulpit.  Knox,  who  himself  loved  to  make 
his  adversaries  ridiculous  as  well  as  odious,  bitterly 
resented  the  mocking  message  sent  by  the  Bishop  to 
the  Lords,  "  That  if  they  suffered  Knox  to  preach,  twelve 
hackbuts  should  light  upon  his  nose  at  once  (oh,  burning 
charity  of  a  bloody  Bishop !)."  Knox  knew,  and  soon 
the  Bishop  was  forced  to  recognize,  that  the  hearts  of 
the  townspeople  were  with  the  Reformers.  The  Bishop 
retired  in  dudgeon  to  Falkland  Palace;  and  Knox 
preached  on  that  Sunday  and  on  the  three  following 
days,  "  even  amidst  the  Doctors,  who  to  this  day  are 
dumb ;  even  as  dumb  as  their  idols  who  were  burned 
in  their  presence."  For  the  Reformers,  who  professed 
Christ  as  the  beginning  and  end  of  their  faith,  treated 
the  image  of  the  Crucified  as  if  it  had  been  the 
shameless  idol  of  some  pagan  cult. 

Knox  had  preached  on  the  cleansing  of  the  Temple, 
and  immediately  after,  the  beautiful  cathedral,  the 
monasteries  of  the  Franciscans  and  Dominicans,  and  the 
other  sacred  buildings  which  had  made  St.  Andrews 
the  fairest  town  in  Scotland,  were  "  purified."  Knox  ^ 
felt  neither  compunction  nor  misgiving ;  his  whole  heart 
was  filled  with  solemn  triumph.  "  The  long  thirst  of 
my  wretched  heart,"  he  writes,  "  is  satisfied  in  abundance, 
.  .  .  for  now,  forty  days  and  more,  hath  my  God  used 
my  tongue  in  my  native  country,  to  the  manifestation 
of  His  glory.  .  .  The  thirst  of  the  poor  people,  as 
well  as  of  the  Nobility  here,  is  wondrous  great,  which 
putteth  me  in  comfort,  that  Christ  Jesus  shall  triumph 
for  a  space  here,  in  the  North,  and  extreme  parts  of  the 
earth." 


CHAPTER  VIIT. 

CIVIL   WAR   IN   SCOTLAND.      (1559 — 1560.) 

On  Monday,  June  12,  the  Queen's  forces  took  up 
position  on  Cupar  Muir.  The  army  of  the  Congregation 
which  opposed  them  was  at  first  a  mere  handful,  but 
during  the  night  men  poured  in  from  the  Lothians, 
from  Perth,  and  from  the  towns  and  districts  of  Fife, 
"  so  that  it  appeared  as  men  had  rained  from  the  clouds." 
On  both  sides  there  was  an  unwillingness  to  shed  blood, 
most  unusual  in  the  Scotland  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
Avhere  arms  were  the  only  arbiters  that  commanded  any 
respect.  The  more  sober  spirits  among  the  Congrega- 
tion were  still  anxious  to  avoid  the  reproach  of  stirring 
up  rebellion ;  on  the  side  of  the  Court,  parties  were 
divided.  The  Duke  of  Chatelherault  could  not  forget 
that  he  was  next  heir  to  the  throne  ;  it  was  not  to  his 
interest  to  prostrate  his  own  countrymen  under  the 
power  of  France.  On  their  part,  the  Queen  and  her 
French  officers  were  unwilling  to  proceed  to  extremities 
till  they  felt  secure  of  help  from  abroad.  At  the  very 
instant  when  the  two  armies  were  confronting  one 
another,  Sir  James  Melville  had  arrived  at  Falkland 
Palace  on  an  embassy  from  the  French  King.  Henry  II 
was  hardly  zealous  enough  to  waste  men  and  treasure 


CIVIL  WAR  IN  SCOTLAND  69 

in  settling  religious  difficulties  in  Scotland,  and  agreed 
with  his  minister,  De  Montmorency,  when  he  declared, 
*'  We  must  commit  Scotsmen's  souls  unto  God,  for  we 
have  difficulty  enough  to  rule  the  consciences  of 
Frenchmen." 

"With  so  much  reluctance  on  both  sides  to  make  an 
irreparable  breach,  a  battle  was  avoided  and  a  truce 
signed  for  eight  days,  the  Regent  consenting  to  with- 
draw her  troops  to  Dunbar.  The  only  man  among  the 
Protestants  who  had  trained  experience  in  arms  was 
William  Kirkcaldy,  Laird  of  Grange,  Knox's  old  co- 
mate  in  the  garrison  of  St.  Andrews.  He  had  served 
in  the  French  army,  and  was  a  skilful  general  as  well  as 
a  stout  and  chivalrous  soldier.  No  man  recognized 
more  clearly  the  weakness  of  the  disorganized  feudal 
army  of  the  Congregation,  nor  was  better  acquainted 
with  the  poAver  France  might  at  any  moment  put  into 
the  field  in  support  of  the  Regent.  On  the  day  after 
the  meeting  on  Cupar  Muir  he  sought  out  his  old 
acquaintance,  Knox,  in  St,  Andrews.  The  same  idea 
may  have  been  in  both  their  minds,  but  it  was  the 
preacher  (who  looked  for  assured  victory  from  the  power 
of  God  alone,  and  by  no  "  arm  of  flesh ")  who,  "  after 
many  words,  burst  forth :  '  If  England  would  foresee 
their  own  commodity  .  .  .  they  would  not  suffer  us  to 
perish  in  this  quarrel.' "  It  was  a  thought  that  had  long 
occupied  Knox's  mind.  "  My  eye,"  he  wrote  to  Cecil, 
"  hath  long  looked  to  a  perpetual  concord  betwixt  these 
two  realms,"  founded  on  a  common  zeal  for  Christ's 
cause.  It  was  no  mere  political  alliance  that  he  looked 
for  such  as  was,  later,  ardently  desired  by  Lord  James 
and  Lethington.  To  Knox  the  people  were  always 
more  important  than  princes,  and  the  establishment  of 


70  JOHN  KNOX 

Christ's  Kingdom  of  infinitely  greater  moment  than  the 
prosperity  of  England  or  Scotland.  It  was  chiefly  to 
further  this  plan  that  he  had  begged  leave  to  pass 
through  England,  that  there  he  might  "communicate 
with  some  :man,  secret  and  of  solid  judgment,  such 
things  as  gladly  I  would  not  commit  to  paper."  But 
for  the  obstinate  refusal  of  the  English  Court  to  grant 
him  licence,  he  had  intended  to  visit  the  North  of 
England  where  he  had  influence,  to  enlist  the  sympathy 
of  the  people  for  their  Scottish  brethren.  It  was  his 
settled  belief  that  "  if  the  hearts  of  the  Borderers  of 
both  parts  can  be  united  together  in  God's  fear,  our 
victory  shall  then  be  easy."  Like  others  of  Knox's 
statesmanlike  schemes,  the  plan  of  a  union  between  two 
nations,  as  distinct  from  an  alliance  between  two 
governments,  was  never  carried  out.  In  the  meantime 
the  urgent  question  was  how  aid  in  men  and  treasure 
might  be  obtained  from  the  cautious  English  Govern- 
ment. Knox,  knowing  himself  to  be  in  disfavour  Avith 
Elizabeth,  left  Grange  to  take  the  initial  steps. 

Meanwhile  the  Lords  of  the  Cougregation  and  their 
following  had  visited  Perth  and  Stirling,  "purifying" 
and  "reforming"  Avherever  they  came.  On  June  29 
they  arrived  in  Edinburgh.  Here  however  they  found 
that  the  populace  had  so  efficiently  "  reformed  "  all  the 
religious  houses  "  that  they  had  left  nothing  but  bare 
walls,  yea,  not  so  much  as  door  or  window ;  where 
through  w^e  were  the  less  troubled  in  putting  order  to 
such  places."  The  Regent  was  at  Dunbar  and  the 
Congregation  took  possession  of  the  capital  unopposed. 
But,  though  they  might  fill  the  crowded,  narrow  town 
with  their  men-at-arms,  the  strength  of  the  place,  the 
fortress,  whose  cannon  commanded  the  main  street,  did 


diVIL  WAR  IN  SCOTLAND  7l 

liot  fall  into  their  hands.  Lord  Erskine  the  com- 
mandant had  received  his  charge  from  the  Parliament, 
to  the  Parliament  alone  would  he  yield  it ;  through  the 
whole  civil  war  he  kept  this  neutrality,  as  little  moved 
by  his  religious  sympathies  with  the  Congregation  as  by 
the  demands  of  the  Regent. 

A  revolutionary  party  should  never  pause  in  the 
midst  of  its  success.  With  inaction,  enthusiasm  cools 
and  reflection  begins.  The  dread  of  an  uncertain  future 
tends  to  reconcile  men  to  the  old  order  of  things ;  in 
such  moments  the  instinct  to  return  to  traditional 
authority  is  strong  in  ordinary  men.  The  Congrega- 
tion lacked  a  political  head-  whose  claim  to  leadership 
could  not  be  disputed.  Far  the  ablest  man  amongst 
them,  Lord  James,  was  from  his  peculiar  position 
prohibited  from  taking  too  prominent  a  part.  Mary  of 
Guise  was  already  spreading  rumours  that  he  aimed 
at  nothing  less  than  the  Crown ;  rumours  that  at  least 
served  to  keep  the  jealous  and  suspicious  Duke  of 
Chatelherault  some  months  longer  on  her  side.  In 
these  anxious  days  of  inaction,  it  was  the  burning 
enthusiasm  and  extraordinary  influence  of  Knox  and  his 
fellow-preachers  that  kept  the  Congregation  together 
and  prevented  betrayals  and  defections  to  the  Court 
party,  where  all  deserters  would  have  been  welcomed  by 
the  diplomatic  Regent.  It  was  their  opposition  that 
prevented  the  Congregation  accepting  her  terms  when 
she  seemed  to  promise  "liberty  to  religion."  They 
"  perceived  her  malicious  craft "  in  these  fair  promises ; 
but,  even  if  they  had  believed  her  sincere,  toleration  and 
liberty  of  conscience  were  not  what  they  were  fighting 
for.  Their  object  was  that  "manifest  idolatry"  should 
be  overthrown  and  the  preaching  of  the  Word  and  right 


72  JOHN   KNOX 

administration  of  the  Sacrament  should  be  established. 
Yet  all  the  zeal  and  eloquence  of  the  preachers 
failed  to  keep  the  Congregation's  army  together 
through  the  month  of  July.  Against  want  and  poverty 
they  could  work  no  miracles.  The  Protestant  army 
had  been  under  arms  since  May  and  their  provisions 
were  exhausted ;  nor  could  men  be  spared  from  the  work 
of  the  fields  in  a  country  where  want  trod  close  upon 
subsistence. 

In  the  meantime  the  Regent  had  everything  to  gain 
by  the  drift  of  time.  Her  disciplined  French  troops 
were  paid  by  money  sent  out  of  France,  or  by  funds 
bestowed  by  the  Churchmen  as  insurance  against 
Reformation.  An  unexpected  event  had  moreover 
entirely  changed  her  position.  The  death  of  the 
French  King,  Henry  II,  on  July  10,  produced  an 
immediate  change  of  policy.  Francis  II,  a  sickly  lad  of 
sixteen,  was  guided  in  all  things  by  his  wife's  uncles, 
the  Duke  of  Guise  and  the  Cardinal  of  Lorraine.  These 
were  committed  to  a  policy  of  extermination  of  the 
Protestants ;  and  their  sister  could  count  confidently 
on  help  from  France  in  her  conflict  with  the  Scottish 
Nobility. 

By  the  end  of  July  the  leaders  of  the  Congregation 
recognized  the  impossibility  of  holding  Edinburgh  any 
longer.  The  town  was  delivered  to  the  Regent  and  a 
truce  was  concluded.  All  questions  of  religion  were  to 
be  suspended  till  the  next  Parliament ;  in  the  meantime, 
the  Congregation  bound  themselves  to  respect  sacred 
buildings  and  to  leave  Churchmen  undisturbed  in  the 
enjoyment  of  their  property — ungodly  compromises 
which  Knox  feared  would  draw  down  God's  judgment 
on  those  consenting  to  tliem.     On  July  26  the  Con- 


CIVIL  WAR  IN  SCOTLAND  73 

gregation,  disheartened  and  anxious,  leftEdinbuigli  and 
withdrew  to  the  West,  and  the  Eegent  entered  the 
Canongate  in  triumph,  and  took  up  her  abode  in 
Holy  rood. 

Tlie  burghers  of  Edinburgh,  the  firmest  Protestants 
in  the  kingdom,  had  chosen  Knox  as  their  minister 
on  July  7.  He  had  however  left  his  congregation 
when  the  city  surrendered,  and  had  gone  with  the 
Lords  to  Stirling.  It  was  Willock  who  administered 
the  Lord's  Supper  to  the  faithful  in  St.  Giles,  while 
French  soldiers  showed  their  contempt  by  strutting 
up  and  down  the  aisles,  talking  and  laughing.  More 
than  once  or  twice  in  the  life  of  Knox  we  find  him, 
in  the  hour  of  peril,  disappearing  with  the  swiftness 
of  his  great  prototype,  Elijah.  In  the  cause  of  religion 
he  was  no  private  combatant  who  might  most  effi- 
ciently do  service  by  heroic  death ;  he  was  the  leader 
whose  hot  and  passionate  faith  could  animate  a  nation, 
and  whose  strong  will  and  practical  genius  could  hold 
men  together  and  plan  far-reaching  schemes.  It  was 
for  the  furthering  of  one  of  these  schemes  that  Knox's 
services  were  at  this  crisis  absolutely  necessary  to  the 
Congregation.  Unlike  all  his  contemporaries, — with  the 
exception  of  Lord  James  and  Lethington, — he  had 
complete  sympathy  with  England,  and  lacked  any 
trace  of  that  irritable  patriotism  which  made  the 
Scotch  Nobility  suspicious  of  the  "  auld  enemy,"  even 
when  most  dependent  on  her  support.  It  was  growing 
daily  clearer  to  the  Congregation  that  without  help 
from  England  their  cause  was  hopeless.  If  Knox's 
forcible  pen  and  acquaintance  with  Englishmen  pointed 
him  out  as  spokesman  in  these  negotiations,  one  insur- 
mountable obstacle  stood   in  his  way.     That   unlucky 


74  JOHN  KNOX 

First  Blast  had  as  he  complained  blown  all  his 
English  friends  from  him.  Cecil,  it  is  true,  habitually 
denied  himself  the  indulgence  of  resentments,  and  for 
the  sake  of  England  in  the  first  place,  and  Christ's 
Cause  in  the  second,  could  overlook  much;  but  Cecil 
had  at  his  back  a  woman  who,  astute  politician  though 
she  was,  never  restrained  her  feminine  partialities  or 
prejudices.  "Of  all  other,  Knox's  name,  if  it  be  not 
Goodman's,  is  odious  here,  and  therefore  I  wish  no 
mention  of  him  hither."  So  Cecil  wrote  to  Sadler,  and 
Cecil  knew  his  mistress. 

There  Avas  nothing  for  it  but  for  Knox  to  explain 
and  apologize  with  as  good  a  grace  as  he  could  bring 
himself  to  assume.  On  July  20  he  set  himself  to 
the  sour  task  of  writing  to  Elizabeth.  To  save  his 
self-respect,  and  to  avoid  all  courtliness,  he  "  discharged 
his  conscience  towards  her,"  reminding  her  how  "  she 
had  declined  from  Christ  in  the  day  of  His  battle 
for  fear  of  her  life."  As  to  the  main  contention,  he 
might  protest  attachment  to  Elizabeth's  person  as  much 
as  he  liked ;  that  which  is  "  repugnant  to  nature, 
contumely  to  God,  and  contrarious  to  His  revealed 
Word,"  was  not  changed  because  the  "  degenerate 
woman  "  who  occupied  the  throne  of  England,  was  in  a 
position  to  favour  the  cause  Knox  had  at  heart.  To 
recant,  or  own  himself  mistaken,  was  impossible  to  a 
man  who  honestly  believed  himself  prompted  by  the 
Holy  Spirit.  In  a  shuffling  and  unsatisfactory  manner 
he  contrived  to  shelter  himself  behind  Deborah,  and 
admitted  that  God  had  raised  up  Elizabeth  "  from  the 
dust,  to  rule  above  His  people  for  the  comfort  of  His 
Kirk."  Exhortations  to  "forget  her  birth  and  title," 
and  to  consider  her  "  former  offences,"  were  not  calcu- 


CIVIL  WAR  IN  SCOTLAND  75 

lated  to  conciliate  the  English  Queen.  Fortunately 
for  the  Protestant  cause,  Cecil  was  conspicuous  for  tact, 
and  Knox's  letter  was  quietly  put  aside.  The  same 
post  that  carried  this  ineffectual  writing,  bore  also 
letters  from  the  Congregation  addressed  severally  to 
Cecil  and  to  Elizabeth.  There  is  a  striking  difference 
in  the  style  of  the  two  missives.  That  to  Cecil  is 
aglow  with  the  sincere  religious  enthusiasm  which  at 
that  moment  possessed  equally  rough  barbarians  like 
Ruthven,  gallant  soldiers  like  Grange,  staunch,  simple 
characters  like  Ochiltree,  undistinguished  men  like 
Argyle  and  Boyd,  and  prudent  counsellors  and  men 
of  the  world  like  Lord  James  and  Glencairn.  Cecil 
was  the  recognized  friend  of  the  Reformation;  to  his 
sympathetic  ear  the  Scottish  Lords  declared  that  their 
only  purpose  was  to  advance  the  glory  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  the  true  preaching  of  His  Evangel  within  their 
country.  They  proposed  to  establish  a  perpetual  amity 
with  England  "  to  the  praise  of  God's  glory  and  the 
comfort  of  the  faithful  in  both  realms;"  finally  they 
hinted  that  they  were  prepared  to  adopt  "  the  next 
remedy,"  in  case  the  Regent  continued  to  oppose  the 
changes  in  religion.  To  Cecil  they  might  exclaim,  in 
all  sincerity  of  fervour,  "  Now  feel  we  the  Heaven 
rather  than  the  earth ; "  but  men  like  Glencairn  and 
Lord  James  knew  that  a  message  from  *'  Heaven " 
would  have  far  less  weight  with  Elizabeth  than  a 
simple  statement  of  danger  threatening  her  crown  and 
kingdom.  "  If  in  this  battle  we  shall  be  overthrown," 
they  wrote  to  the  Queen,  "  we  fear  that  our  ruin  shall 
be  but  the  entrance  to  a  greater  cruelty."  Elizabeth 
was  indifferent  to  religion,  she  detested  the  bald  ritual 
of  Calvinism,  and  resented  the  republican  views  of  Knox 


76  JOHN  KNOX 

and  liis  fellow-preachers,  but  she  had  perforce  to  throw 
iu  her  lot  with  the  Protestants.  In  France  the  Guises 
were  already  treating  Mary  Stuart  as  the  rightful 
Queen  of  England ;  in  England  the  Catholics  were 
ready  to  support  a  princess  of  their  own  faith ;  Eliza- 
beth was  forced  to  recognize  the  fact  that  if  a  French 
army  were  triumphant  in  Scotland,  her  crown  would 
not  be  secure  for  a  day.  On  the  other  hand,  to  break 
faith  with  France  by  openly  supporting  the  Scottish 
Protestants  would  precipitate  matters  and  bring  about 
the  very  danger  she  feared.  She  desired  to  gain  time, 
to  negotiate,  and  finally  to  give  help  as  sparingly  as 
possible,  and  above  all  things  with  perfect  secrecy. 

Secrecy  being  a  first  consideration,  there  is  an  irony 
in  the  fact  that  it  was  John  Knox,  the  most  direct  and 
outspoken  of  men,  who,  in  the  beginning  of  August, 
went  on  an  embassy  to  Elizabeth's  representative  at 
Berwick,  Sir  Harry  Percy,  Deputy  Warden  of  the 
Marches.  It  had  first  been  intended  that  he  should 
continue  his  journey  as  far  as  Stamford,  there  to  have 
an  interview  with  Cecil,  but  it  soon  became  apparent 
to  the  English  statesmen  that  he  was  scarcely  fitted 
for  a  secret  embassy.  "  Since  my  departure  from  Nor- 
ham  there  hath  arrived  at  Holy  Island  Mr.  Knox,  in 
such  unsecret  sort,"  wrote  Sir  Harry  Percy,  "  that  it  is 
openly  known  both  in  England  and  Scotland ;  wherefore, 
I  think,  he  hath  not  discreetly  used  his  coming."  Knox 
was  accompanied  by  another  minister,  and  Sir  James 
Croft,  who,  in  Sir  Harry's  absence,  was  their  host, 
recognizing  the  impossibility  of  dealing  with  such  a 
pair  of  diplomatists,  urged  their  return  home  with 
urbane  ingenuity.  "I  think  it  not  expedient,"  he  said, 
"  that  in  such  rarity  of  preachers,  ye  two  be  any  long 


CIVIL  WAR  IN  SCOTLAND  77 

time  absent  from  the  Lords ;  "  "  faithful  counsel "  which 
Knox  received  and  acted  upon  in  all  simplicity. 

If  he  were  no  diplomatist,  he  was  the  only  man  in 
Scotland  who  could  have  held  the  Protestant  party 
together  in  the  weeks  that  followed.  He  had  to  keep 
the  Lords  of  the  Congregation  in  patience  with  the 
English  Court  whose  dilatory  policy  and  shifting 
promises  exasperated  the  proud  Scots,  already  irritably 
sensitive  to  the  humiliation  of  being  suppliants  to  their 
old  enemy.  At  the  same  time  he  had,  over  and  over 
again,  to  explain  to  English  statesmen  the  poverty  that 
prevented  the  Scots  from  striking  a  bolder  stroke  for 
themselves.  For  the  Protestant  Lords  had  by  no  means 
the  support  of  the  whole  people.  It  fell  to  Knox  to 
instruct  public  opinion,  and  to  rouse  popular  antipathy 
against  the  Regent  and  her  French  allies.  In  proclam- 
ations and  appeals  Mary  of  Guise  kept  laying  her  case 
before  the  world.  When,  despite  the  treaty,  she  forti- 
fied Leith,  she  likened  herself  "  to  a  small  bird  which, 
being  pursued,  will  provide  some  nest,  so  her  Grace 
could  do  no  less  than  provide  some  sure  retreat  for 
herself  and  her  company."  It  is  a  pathetic  image 
which  loses  a  little  of  its  force  when  we  learn  that  "  the 
nest "  was  guarded  by  a  thousand  newly-arrived  French 
soldiers,  and  that  "  her  Grace  "  was  daily  looking  for 
more.  In  counter  proclamations,  issued  by  the  Congre- 
gation and  obviously  penned  by  Knox,  appeal  is  made 
alike  to  the  national  pride  and  the  material  interests 
of  the  people.  They  are  reminded  of  the  taxes  the 
Regent  had  levied,  the  coinage  she  had  debased,  the 
Sta,te  offices  she  had  bestowed  on  Frenchmen ;  and,  it  is 
added,  if  this  be  not  enough,  they  may  find  evidence  of 
her  "  motherly  care "  in  the  French  soldiers  who  are 


78  JOHN  KNOX 

daily  coming  into  the  country  "  to  take  the  barnyards 
newly-gathered,  the  granaries  replenished,  the  houses 
garnished,  and  by  force  to  put  the  just  possessors  and 
ancient  inhabitants  therefrom,  to  shift  for  themselves 
in  begging  ....  they  being  true  Scotsmen,  members  of 
our  Commonwealth,  and  our  dear  brothers  and  sisters." 
If  the  appeal  throughout  the  proclamation  is  to  patriot- 
ism and  prejudice,  it  was  because  Knox  saw  clearly  that, 
on  the  subject  of  religion,  the  bulk  of  the  people  were 
still  apathetic.     They  might  join  in  a  riot  and  destroy 
sacred  buildings,  actuated  by  hatred  of  the  Churchmen 
and  love  of  mischief;  they  were  not  prepared  to  make 
prolonged  sacrifices  for  a  faith  they  hardly  understood. 
During  the  months  of  August  and   September  Knox 
preached  the  Gospel  unremittingly  in  all  parts  of  Scot- 
land, travelling  without  rest  from  town  to  town.     "  I 
have   been   in    continual   travail,"   he  writes   to  Mrs. 
Locke,  in  September,  "  and,  notwithstanding  that  fevers 
have   vexed   me   the   space   of  a  month,  yet  have  I 
travelled  through  the  most  part  of  this  realm,  where 
.  .  .  men  of  all  sorts  and  conditions  embrace  the  truth." 
The  manner  of  his  preaching  can  only  be  described  by 
his  favourite   image  :  "  We  do  nothing  but  go  about 
Jericho  blowing  with  trumpets  as  God  giveth  strength." 


CHAPTER   IX. 

END   OF   THE   CIVIL   WAR.     (1559 — 1560.) 

Harvests  are  never  early  in  Scotland,  and  in  1559 
the  season  was  unusually  late;  it  was  October  18 
before  the  scattered  army  of  the  Congregation,  fresh 
from  the  labours  of  the  field,  gathered  in  Edinburgh. 
Their  situation  had  changed  in  more  than  one  respect. 
The  Duke  had  come  over  to  their  side  bringing  the 
strength  of  his  title  and  wealth,  and  the  weakness  of 
his  wavering  purposes.  His  son,  Arran,  was  a  more 
important  ally;  the  insanity  that  was  to  wreck  his 
career  was  still  latent,  while  his  fanatical  zeal  for  the 
Protestant  cause  procured  him  a  place  in  Knox's  esteem 
second  only  to  Lord  James.  The  English  Government 
had  so  far  recognized  the  Congregation  as  to  send  an 
accredited  envoy  to  them,  Mr.  Randolph.  Not  only 
was  the  consequence  of  the  Protestant  party  augmented, 
their  numbers  also  had  increased.  This  was,  however, 
to  prove  a  source  of  weakness.  "  The  number  is  now 
augmented  and  their  poverty  also,"  Knox  wrote  sadly 
to  a  friend  in  England.  A  towQ  like  Edinburgh,  narrow, 
walled,  and  already  overcrowded,  could  not  lodge  the 
large  body  of  men  that  pressed  into  it,  and  friction 
with  the  populace  was  constant,  and  daily  grew  more 


80  JOHN  KNOX 

acute.  The  country  round,  already  swept  by  the 
French  troops,  could  not  furnish  provisions,  and  food 
rose  at  once  to  famine  prices.  The  mercenary  foot- 
soldiers,  sullen  and  mutinous,  clamoured  for  pay  that 
was  not  forthcoming.  The  Duke,  the  nominal  head  of 
the  party,  never  failed  to  discourage  and  paralyze  any 
enterprise  in  which  he  had  a  part ;  there  were  others 
equally  half-hearted,  and  it  was  feared  that  some  whom 
"money  largely  offered  could  not  corrupt,"  would  be 
compelled  to  remain  at  home  from  "  extreme  poverty." 
But  difficulties  and  dangers  which  depressed  their 
comrades  only  roused  a  sterner  spirit  in  the  real  leaders 
of  the  party.  "  I  have  found  in  Arran  and  Lord  James 
more  honour,  stoutness  and  courage  than  in  all  the 
rest,"  Avrote  Randolph  to  Cecil.  "  Whitelaw  and  Grange," 
he  adds,  "  are  worth  three  hundred  of  the  rest." 

It  was  characteristic  of  these  men,  and  still  more  of 
the  fiery  soul  of  Knox  which  animated  them,  that  the 
lower  their  fortunes  sank  the  more  aggressive  their 
actions  became.  In  July  they  had  hinted  to  Cecil  that 
they  might  be  driven  "  to  take  the  next  remedy  " ;  on 
October  21  they  formally  deposed  Mary  of  Guise  from 
being  Regent.  Kings  had,  more  than  once,  been 
removed  in  Scottish  history,  but  only  with  violence  and 
by  some  discontented  faction ;  here  it  was  the  Nobility 
sitting  in  solemn  council  who  deposed  the  ruler,  after 
due  discussion  and  with  appeals  to  first  principles  and 
Scriptural  precedents.  True  to  that  reverence  for  legal 
forms  which  Avas  to  become  a  characteristic  of  later 
Scottish  rebels,  they  deposed  the  Regent  in  the  name 
of  their  sovereign  Lord  and  Lady.  The  act  is  curiously 
significant  of  the  new  spirit  which  had  come  into 
society.     It   was  like   a  prologue   to   that   drama   of 


END   OF   THE  CIVIL  WAR  81 

arbitrary  government  and  determined  revolution  which, 
three  generations  later,  was  to  end  tragically  on  the 
scaffold  at  Whitehall.  At  the  moment  however  this 
audacious  act  did  not  materially  help  the  Congre- 
gation ;  the  deposed  Regent  had  an  army  at  her  back, 
the  deposing  nobles  were  but  a  company  of  anxious  and 
penniless  men. 

Despondency  seems  at  this  time  to  have  seized  even 
the  indomitable  spirit  of  Knox.  There  is  an  anxious 
urgency  in  the  frequent  letters  he  wrote  to  Croft  and 
others  in  England  entreating  that  money  may  be  sent. 
He  fears  "  lest  extreme  poverty  should  compel  them 
(i.  e.  the  Protestant  Lords)  to  remain  at  home,  for  they 
are  super-expended  already ; "  and  he  adds  warningly  : 
"  Ye  are  not  ignorant  what  poverty  on  the  one  hand 
and  money  largely  offered  on  the  other  part  is  able  to 
persuade."  If  Mary  of  Guise  was  prepared  to  bribe 
largely,  money  flowed  but  sparingly  from  Elizabeth's 
coffers.  It  needed  urgent  appeals  from  her  own 
servants  before  help  was  dispatched  to  the  suffering 
Protestants  in  Scotland. 

In  the  end  of  October  the  superiority  in  arms 
of  the  French  troops  was  clearly  shown.  Day  after 
day  they  sallied  out  of  Leith,  attacked  the  Protestant 
forces,  and  drove  them  flying  through  the  Canongate 
to  the  very  walls  of  Edinburgh.  The  assailants  grew 
more  daring  with  each  fresh  triumph,  while  disorder 
and  discouragement  broke  the  spirit  of  the  Protestant 
troops.  No  one  felt  these  reverses  more  bitterly  than 
Knox.  He  had  to  uphold  the  courage  of  the  whole 
company  and  to  endure  the  gibes  of  the  angry  popu- 
lace ;  yet,  in  that  moment  of  stress  and  strain,  he  could 
pause  to  record  the  godly  death  and  dying  testimony  of 


82  JOHN   KNOX 

a  certain  Captain  Alexander  Halyburton,  killed  in  one 
of  these  frays.  "  He  confessed  that  he  doubted  nothing 
of  God's  mercy,  purchased  to  him  by  the  blood  of 
Christ  Jesus,  neither  that  it  pleased  God  to  make  him 
worthy  to  shed  his  blood  and  spend  his  life  in  the 
defence  of  so  just  a  cause.  And  thus,  with  the  dolour 
of  many  he  ended  his  dolour,  and  did  enter,  we  doubt 
not,  into  that  blessed  immortality  within  two  hours 
after  that  we  were  defeated." 

Panic  had  spread  through  the  Protestant  ranks. 
Lord  James  and  Arran  offered  to  remain  and  hold  the 
town,  but  they  could  get  no  support.  In  the  dark, 
early  morning  of  November  7,  in  all  haste  and  secrecy, 
the  Congregation  marched  out  of  Edinburgh,  At 
Stirling  they  drew  to  a  halt,  and  here  the  tramjDet 
voice  of  Knox  sounded  clear  and  confident,  re-animating 
hearts  heavy  with  disappointment  and  the  dread  of  an 
uncertain  future.  Though  their  faces  might  this  day 
be  confounded,  he  told  them,  their  enemies  triumphant 
and  their  hearts  quaking  with  fear ;  if  they  would  but 
turn  unfeignedly  to  the  Eternal,  their  God  ("Who 
beats  down  to  death  to  the  intent  that  He  may  raise 
up  again "),  then  "  their  dolours,  confusion,  and  fear 
should  be  turned  into  joy,  honour,  and  boldness." 

It  was  found  advisable  to  divide  into  two  parties ;  one 
half  of  the  Protestants  remained  in  the  West  to  stagnate 
under  the  infirm  command  of  the  Duke,  the  other 
made  a  splendid  and  desperate  defence  of  Fife  under 
the  leadership  of  Lord  James,  Arran,  and  Kirkcaldy  of 
Grange.  With  these  went  Knox.  He  lived  at  St. 
Andrews,  and  was  chiefly  occupied  in  writing  the 
History  of  the  conflict.  He  kept  a  keen  and  watchful 
eye  on  every  detail  of  the  fighting.     There  is  a  sympa- 


END  OF   THE   CIVIL   WAR  83 

tlietic  ring  of  pride  in  the  words  with  which  he 
describes  the  courage  of  those  two  "young  plants," 
Lord  James  and  Arran,  who  for  a  month  on  end  "  lay 
in  their  clothes,  their  boots  never  off,  and  had  skirmish- 
ing almost  every  day,  yea,  some  days  from  morn  till 
evening."  Of  his  old  comrade,  Kirkcaldy,  he  writes  iu 
the  same  spirit,  "  God  is  highly  to  be  praised  in  the 
prudent  boldness  and  painful  diligence  of  the  Laird  of 
Grange."  But  most  touching  and  most  characteristic 
of  Knox  is  the  tenderness  which  makes  him  pause  in 
his  narrative  to  note  the  death  of  a  young  "  French 
boy,  fervent  in  religion,  and  clean  of  life,  whom  in 
despite  they  (the  Regent's  soldiers)  hanged  on  a 
steeple." 

Knox  was  no  longer  burdened  Avith  the  task  of 
negotiating  with  England,  work  for  which  he  was  un- 
fitted. In  the  end  of  October,  Lethington  had  openly 
joined  the  Protestants,  and  already  in  November  had 
been  sent  to  London  as  the  ambassador  of  the  Con- 
gregation, No  man  in  Scotland  Avas  so  well  fitted  for 
the  difficult  part  he  had  to  play,  A  friend  of  Cecil, 
a  favourite  of  Elizabeth,  a  dexterous  diplomatist,  and  a 
politician  of  large  and  enlightened  ideas,  he  had  at  the 
same  time  a  proud  and  sensitive  patriotism  that  made 
him  quick  to  guard  the  honour  as  well  as  the  interests 
of  Scotland.  He  required  all  his  remarkable  qualities 
to  bring  his  task  to  a  successful  issue.  Slowly,  with 
many  delays  and  capricious  counter-orders,  Elizabeth 
was  making  up  her  mind  to  send  material  aid  to  the 
Scottish  Lords.  The  delay  was  almost  intolerable  to 
the  sujBfering  army  in  Fife.  Knox,  as  the  known  friend 
of  England,  was  openly  reproached.  Men  said  bitterly 
to  his  face,  "  Support  will  come  from  England  when  we 


84  JOHN   KNOX 

have  no  need  of  it."  He  withdrew  from  pubUc  hfe, 
and  in  sadness  of  soul  looked  back  on  the  days  spent 
in  the  galley  as  less  painful ;  "  For  that  torment,  for  the 
most  part,  did  touch  the  body,  but  this  pierces  the  soul 
and  inward  affections.  Then  was  I  assuredly  persuaded 
that  I  should  not  die  till  I  had  preached  Christ  Jesus, 
even  where  I  now  am.  And  yet,  having  now  my 
heart's  desire,  I  am  nothing  satisfied  neither  yet 
rejoice." 

Through  those  winter  months  the  Regent's  troops 
were  pressing  hard  on  the  small  Protestant  army. 
"Where  is  now  John  Knox,  his  God?"  Mary  of  Guise 
is  reported  to  have  said  in  derision  (but  only  by 
Knox).  "My  God  is  now  stronger  than  his — yea,  even 
in  Fife." 

On  January  4,  the  French  soldiery  were  within 
eight  miles  of  St.  Andrews.  Suddenly  a  fleet  of  several 
sail  appeared  off  the  Isle  of  May.  A  French  fleet 
under  d'Elbeuf  was  daily  expected,  and  the  Regent's 
forces  advanced  triumphantly  to  welcome  it,  only  to 
learn  that  it  was  the  long-delayed  English  ships  making 
for  the  Firth  of  Forth.  The  arrival  of  these  auxiliaries 
turned  the  fortune  of  war,  the  French  withdrew  pre- 
cipitately on  Leith,  and  the  Congregation  in  Fife  had 
a  breathing  space  in  which  to  recover  strength. 

From  this  point  the  conflict  takes  larger  dimensions. 
The  stage  is  still  Scotland,  but  the  key  to  the  position 
is  to  be  found  in  Elizabeth's  relations  to  France  and 
other  powers.  The  successful  issue  of  the  negotiations 
between  Elizabeth's  Government  and  the  Lords  of  the 
Congregation,  which  brought  an  English  army  into 
Scotland  in  April  1560,  was  the  work  of  diplomatists 
like   Lethington   and   Lord  James;    the  surrender  of 


END   OF  THE   CIVIL  WAR  85 

Leith,  after  a  two  months'  siege,  which  broke  the  power 
of  the  Regent's  army  and  drove  her  French  allies  out 
of  Scotland,  was  entirely  due  to  the  well-equipped 
English  forces.  From  Knox's  silence  on  the  matter  we 
may  conclude  that  he  took  no  active  part  in  these 
transactions.  It  is  probable  that  he  was  with  the 
Protestant  army  before  Leith  during  the  months  of 
May  and  June.  He  relates  incidents  of  the  siege  that 
he  must  have  seen  as  an  eye-witness  or  picked  up  from 
the  current  hearsay  of  the  camp.  Where  his  enemies 
were  concerned  Knox  had  an  uncritical  greed  for 
gossip.  While  the  tide  of  fortune  was  setting  against 
her,  Mary  of  Guise  lay  dying  in  the  Castle  of  Edin- 
burgh. The  defeated  chief  of  a  failing  cause,  a  lonely 
woman  dying  in  a  strange  land,  she  had  claims  to  the 
forbearance  even  of  an  enemy ;  but  when  Knox  deals 
with  such  as  he  considered  "  the  seed  of  Antichrist,"  he 
knows  neither  courtesy  to  women,  generosity  to  a  fallen 
foe,  nor  simple  humanity  to  the  suffering  and  dying. 
With  unseemly  eagerness,  he  records  an  idle  and 
malicious  tale  that  from  tlie  Castle  of  Edinburgh  the 
dying  Regent  gloated  over  the  spectacle  of  the  dead 
bodies  of  English  soldiers  exposed  under  the  walls  of 
Leith — a  fact  physically  impossible  at  that  distance  ! 
He  exults  over  her  bodily  sufferings  in  words  too  coarse 
to  be  repeated.  Yet  even  the  hostile  narrative  of  Knox 
cannot  conceal  the  gentle  magnanimity  shown  by  Mary 
of  Guise  on  her  death-bed.  She  bade  farewell  to  Lord 
James,  Glencairn,  Argyle,  and  Lord  Marischall,  and 
admitted  with  sad  candour  that  she  had  been  mistaken 
and  misled  by  evil  counsel.  She  even  consented  to 
see  the  Protestant  minister,  Willock ;  an  act  probably 
more  due   to  unchanging   courtesy  than   to  changing 


8G  JOHN  KNOX 

convictions.  Knox  ends  his  account  of  her  deatli  with  the 
fervent  ejaculation,  "God  for  His  great  mercy's  sake  rid 
us  from  the  rest  of  the  Guisian  blood.  Amen.  Amen." 
Hatred  to  the  House  of  Guise  is — not  indeed  a  justi- 
fication— but  an  explanation  of  the  bitterness  with 
which  he  detested  and  suspected  the  Regent.  Tlie 
Guises  were  earning  the  undying  hate  of  all  Pro- 
testants. All  through  the  preceding  March  (1560)  at 
the  Pout  d'Amboise,  Protestants — many  of  them  of 
distinction — had  been  drowned,  tortured,  or  executed, 
while  from  the  palace  windows,  the  Cardinal,  the 
Duke,  the  poor  boy-king,  his  little  brothers  and  his 
beautiful  young  wife  Mary  of  Scotland,  had  looked 
down  unmoved  on  their  torments.  These  facts  must 
not  be  forsfotten  if  we  would  be  fairer  to  Knox  than  he 
is  to  his  enemies. 

By  the  beginning  of  July  Leith  had  surrendered  and 
Cecil  and  Wotton  on  behalf  of  England,  and  two  pleni- 
potentiaries on  the  part  of  France,  were  in  Edinburgh 
arranging  the  terms  of  the  peace.  It  was  a  curious 
triangular  treaty,  in  which  each  country  made  separate 
arrangements  with  the  other  two. 

Cecil,  perhaps  better  than  any  other  man  in  Europe, 
knew  the  real  difficulty  and  importance  of  the  crisis. 
Never  did  the  balance  of  power  hang  more  delicately 
poised.  France  would  never  have  relinquished  her 
hold  on  Scotland,  the  Guises  would  never  have  con- 
sented to  peace  with  heretics,  if  the  Huguenots  in 
France  had  not  been  restless  and  menacing.  Philip 
of  Spain  looked  on  sourly  while  his  protegee,  Elizabetli, 
lent  her  aid  to  the  Scotch  Protestants,  but  jealousy  of 
France  and  dread  of  his  own  subjects  in  the  Low 
Countries  kept  him  inactive.     Elizabeth  herself  knew 


END  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAT^  ^7 

that  her  Catholic  subjects — a  large  and  influential 
body — disliked  the  alliance  with  the  Scotch  Protestants. 
Above  all  other  considerations,  Cecil  felt  himself 
hampered  by  his  Scotch  allies.  Among  the  nobles 
many  were  half-hearted,  distrustful  of  England,  anxious 
to  secure  the  lands  and  pensions  they  possessed  in 
France.  On  the  other  hand,  the  preachers  were  vehe- 
ment and  extravaofant  in  their  demands  for  reliofious 
reform.  "  Their  folly,"  Cecil  wrote  impatiently  to 
Norfolk,  "would  hazard  all."  "Religion  is  more 
earnestly  received  here  than  at  home,"  he  writes. 
"  Some  are  so  deeply  persuaded  in  this  matter  as 
nothing  can  persuade  them  that  may  appear  to  hinder." 
"  Lethington,"  he  adds  with  relief,  "  whose  capacity  is 
worth  six  others,  helpeth  much  in  this." 

The  French  deputation,  whose  object  was  to  estrange 
the  Scots  from  their  allies,  conceded  frankly  all  the 
demands  made  by  the  former.  They  consented  that 
the  French  troops  should  evacuate  Scotland,  and  that 
the  fortresses  they  had  occupied  should  be  destroyed. 
An  Act  of  Oblivion  was  to  cover  whatever  had  been 
against  the  Government  since  March  1558.  The 
Estates  were  to  be  convened,  the  question  of  religion 
was  to  be  carefully  considered  by  them  in  full  Council, 
and  the  result  submitted  to  the  Sovereigns. 

On  July  8  the  peace  was  concluded,  and  immediately 
the  French  troops  began  to  embark.  It  was  practically 
the  end  of  the  kindly  old  French  alliance  that  had 
lasted  for  centuries.  To  it  Scotland  owed  most  of 
what  was  refined  in  her  social  life,  much  that  was 
chivalrous  and  picturesque  in  her  history.  The  remem- 
brance of  it  still  stirs  a  chord  of  romantic  sentiment  in 
Scottish  hearts  like  the  echoes  of  an  old  song.     But  to 


88  JOHN  KNOX 

Knox  it  was  the  dominion  of  Satan  that  was  coming  to 
an  end  to  give  place  to  a  godly  and  perpetual  amity 
with  England.  In  the  noble  and  fervent  prayer  which 
he  offered  in  St.  Giles'  before  the  assembled  Nobility  on 
a  solemn  day  of  thanksgiving,  he  renders  special  grati- 
tude to  God  for  "  our  confederates  of  England,"  and 
prays  that  the  two  nations  may  be  so  closely  united  in 
the  Holy  Spirit  "  that  Satan  have  never  power  to  set 
us  at  variance  again."  Preachers  who  pray  extempore 
can  hardly  forbear  at  times  mixing  exhortation  of  their 
hearers  with  invocation  of  the  Almighty ;  there  was  a 
note  of  warning  meant  for  some  present  in  the  earnest 
petition :  "  Confound  Thou  the  counsels  of  them  that 
go  about  to  break  that  most  godly  league  contracted  in 
Thy  Name." 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE   CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

The  cause  of  the  Congregation  seemed  now  triumph- 
ant. The  Catholic  Church  had  apparently  collapsed 
without  resistance,  but  the  completeness  of  the  victory 
showed  its  insecurity.  If  the  Churchmen  seemed  to 
acquiesce  in  their  own  destruction,  it  was  because  they 
were  confident  that  the  French  would  return  in  the 
name  of  the  lawful  Sovereign  and  reverse  whatever 
changes  might  have  been  made  in  the  religion  of 
Scotland.  The  Lords  of  the  Congregation  clearly  re- 
cognized this  danger;  they  were  persuaded  by  the 
preachers  that  one  way  of  preparing  for  it  was  to  lose 
no  time  in  establishing  the  Reformed  Church  firmly 
in  the  country. 

Parliament  met  early  in  August.  It  was  the  largest 
and  most  popular  assembly  that  had  ever  met  in 
Scotland,  and  was  largely  composed  of  the  lesser  barons 
or  lairds.  This  class  furnished  from  first  to  last  the 
most  zealous  and  disinterested  supporters  of  the  Re- 
formation. For  already  among  the  nobles  there  were 
some  "  who,  for  worldly  respects,  abhorred  a  perfect 
Reformation."  When  Knox  preached  in  St.  Giles'  from 
the  prophet  Haggai,  vehemently  urging  the  duty  and 


90  JOHN  KNOX 

privilege  of  rebuilding  the  Temple  of  the  Lord,  Leth- 
ington  remarked,  in  his  peculiar  vein  of  light  mockery, 
"We  must  now  forget  ourselves,  and  bear  the  barrow 
to  build  the  houses  of  God." 

The  first  act  of  the  Parliament  Avas  to  request  some 
of  the  most  notable  preachers  to  draw  up  Articles  of 
Belief  for  the  new  Church.  This  they  did  in  the  space 
of  four  days.  Randolph  might  well  write,  in  astonish- 
ment, "  I  never  heard  matters  of  so  great  importance 
neither  sooner  dispatched  nor  with  better  will  agreed 
to,"  He  might  have  added  that  never  was  a  Confession 
of  Faith  drawn  up  with  greater  completeness,  distinct- 
ness, or  a  more  noble  eloquence. 

This  Confession  has  been  perhaps  the  most  im- 
portant influence  in  Scottish  history.  It  passed  like 
iron  into  the  spiritual  life  of  the  nation ;  in  times  of 
storm  and  stress  it  became  a  sword  in  the  hands  of 
a  determined  people ;  for  generations  it  has  been  the 
mould  which  has  shaped  powerful  intellects  and  resolute 
characters ;  at  times  also  it  has  been  like  strong  chains 
binding  the  souls  and  intelligences  of  men.  In  the 
form  in  which  it  was  recast  by  the  Puritan  Revolution, 
it  has  survived  into  our  own  day.  If  to  some  it  has 
become  as  an  old  weapon  unfit  for  modern  warfare, 
none  can,  without  blindness,  cease  to  wonder  at  an 
instrument  so  admirably  tempered,  or  at  the  strength 
of  those  who  wore  and  wielded  it. 

This  Confession  Avhich  was  so  powerful  both  to 
quicken  and  transform  the  life  of  the  nation,  was 
essentially  the  work  of  one  mind — that  of  John  Knox. 
We  have  seen  that  he  was  not  a  man  of  original 
speculation.  The  definite  religious  system  which  the 
intellect  of  Calvin   had   built  on   the   foundations  of 


THE   CONFESSION  OF  FAITH  91 

Paul  and  Augustine,  had  been  adopted  with  passionate 
conviction  by  the  Scottish  Reformer,  because,  in  every 
respect,  it  met  the  requirements  of  his  ardent  tempera- 
ment and  practical  intellect.  His  nature  abhorred 
compromise  and  was  incapable  of  toleration  ;  the  system 
of  Calvin  swept  away,  without  compunction,  the  whole 
authority  and  experience  of  the  Church — the  good  with 
the  evil — and  took  up  firm  ground  on  the  sole  authority 
of  Scripture.  Knox  was  a  man  whose  intuitions  were  so 
rapid  and  penetrating  that  they  seemed .  to  himself  to 
be  direct  inspirations,  and  Calvinism  taught  that  of 
ourselves  we  are  dead,  blind,  and  corrupt,  till  the  Spirit 
of  God  "quickeneth  that  Avhich  is  dead,  removeth  the 
darkness  from  our  minds,  and  boweth  our  stubborn 
hearts  to  the  obedience  of  His  blessed  will."  He  was 
a  man  of  strong  affections  and  of  bitter  animosities, 
and  his  experience  of  life  had  helped  to  make  him  a 
good  hater.  Calvinism  taught,  at  least  by  implication, 
that  those  whom  God  had  reprobated  man  might  hate 
with  a  godly  hatred.  Everywhere  he  had  seemed  to 
see  evil  triumphant  and  righteousness  oppressed;  in 
every  country  of  Europe,  as  he  believed,  temporal 
power  was  allying  itself  with  moribund  spiritual 
authority  to  stifle  the  spirit  of  truth.  The  perplexing 
problem  of  trying  to  find  God's  eternal  justice  beneath 
the  iniquities  and  inequalities  of  actual  life  was  solved 
in  Calvinism  by  the  dogma  that  the  Glory  of  God  is 
manifested  as  clearly  in  the  judgment  and  perdition 
of  the  wicked  as  in  the  salvation  of  the  just.  But 
there  were  also  in  Knox  depths  of  feeling  and  a  fervid 
spiritual  imagination  which  were  stirred  by  the  central 
facts  of  the  Christian  Creed  into  utterances  of  lofty 
and   tender  beauty.     Where  the  Confession  of  Faith 


92  JOHN  KNOX 

deals  with  the  work  of  Redemption,  the  language  has 
the  ring  of  martial  music.  "And  so  was  born  the  just 
seed  of  David,  the  angel  of  the  great  counsel  of  God ; 
the  very  Messiah  promised  whom  we  acknowledge  and 
confess  Emmanuel.  .  .  It  behoved  further  the  Messiah 
and  Redeemer  ...  by  death  to  overcome  him  that 
was  author  of  death.  But  because  the  only  Godhead 
could  not  suffer  death,  neither  could  the  only  Manhood 
overcome  the  same;  He  joined  both  together  in  one 
person,  that  the  imbecility  of  the  one  should  suffer  and 
be  subject  to  death,  and  the  infinite  and  the  invincible 
power  of  the  other  .  .  .  should  triumph  and  purchase 
for  us  life,  liberty,  and  perpetual  victory."  There  is 
the  same  sonorous  ring  in  the  Article  concerning  the 
Resurrection  of  Christ :  "  We  undoubtedly  believe 
(that  inasmuch  as  it  was  impossible  that  the  dolours  of 
death  should  retain  in  bondage  the  Author  of  life),  that 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  .  .  .  did  rise  again  for  our 
justification  and,  destroying  him  who  was  the  author 
of  death,  brought  life  again  to  us  who  were  subject 
to  death  and  to  the  bondage  of  the  same." 

To  a  man  of  Knox's  invincible  vitality,  bound  and 
thwarted  by  the  body  and,  as  he  constantly  laments, 
subject  to  many  temptations,  the  vision  of  the  life 
after  death  was  full  of  triumphant  joy.  "The  Elect 
departed  are  in  peace,"  so  runs  the  Article  concerning 
the  Immortality  of  the  Soul,  "and  rest  from  their 
labours;  not  that  they  sleep  and  come  to  a  certain 
oblivion  (as  some  fantastic  heads  do  affirm),  but  that 
they  are  delivered  from  all  fear,  all  torment,  and  all 
temptation,  to  which  we  and  all  God's  elect  are  subject 
in  this  life."  Concerning  the  general  resurrection  on 
the  last  day,  the  Confession  ends  with  a  burst  of  exulting 


THE  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH  93 

faith.  "  111  the  general  judgment  there  shall  be  given 
to  every  man  and  woman  resurrection  of  the  flesh ;  for 
the  sea  shaU  give  her  dead,  the  earth  those  that  therein 
be  enclosed;  yea,  the  Eternal,  our  God,  shall  stretch 
out  His  hand  upon  the  dust,  and  the  dead  shall  arise 
incorruptible,  and  that  in  the  substance  of  the  same 
flesh  that  every  man  now  bears,  to  receive,  according  to 
their  works,  glory  or  punishment." 

If  this  Confession  has  a  stately  rhythm  and  a  nobility 
of  diction  lacking  in  the  more  formal,  scholastic  Creeds 
and  Catechisms  of  the  following  century,  it  is  perhaps 
because  the  first  Reformers  had  still  the  music  of  the 
Church's  Latin  sounding  in  their  ears. 

The  same  dogmatic  certainty  that  expounds  the 
Divine  scheme  as  it  is  conceived  in  the  Councils  of  God, 
traces  its  working  among  the  obscurities  and  perplex- 
ities of  this  life.  "  From  the  beginning  even  to  the 
end  of  the  world,  there  has  been,  is,  and  shall  be  a 
Church  .  .  .  which  Church  is  Catholic  because  it  contains 
the  Elect  of  all  ages,  all  realms,  nations,  and  tongues,  be 
they  of  the  Jews,  or  be  they  of  the  Gentiles."  This 
noble  breadth  of  view  is,  at  once  and  to  a  modern  ear, 
startlingly  modified  by  the  vehement  declaration,  "  We 
utterly  abhor  the  blasphemy  of  those  that  affirm  that 
men  Avho  live  according  to  equity  and  justice,  shall  be 
saved  what  religion  soever  they  have  professed." 
Though  this  Catholic  Church  be  invisible,  "  known  only 
to  God,  Who  alone  knoweth  whom  He  hath  chosen,"  yet 
there  are  signs  by  which  the  true  Church  may  be  known ; 
the  sincere  preaching  of  the  Word,  the  right  administra- 
tion of  the  Sacraments  of  Christ  Jesus,  and  lastly,  eccle- 
siastical discipline  rightly  administered.  "  And  such 
Churches,  we  the  inhabitants  of  the  realm  of  Scotland, 


94  JOHN   KNOX 

professors  of  Christ  Jesus,  confess  us  to  have  in  our  cities, 
towns,  and  places  reformed." 

Before  it  was  presented  to  Parliament,  the  Confession 
was  revised  by  Lord  James  and  Lethiugton,  prudent 
counsellors  who  mitigated  "  the  austerity  of  many  words 
and  sentences."  Knox  had  originally  introduced  a 
chapter  on  the  "  Obedience  and  disobedience  due  to 
magistrates,"  but  they,  remembering  how  "  disobedi- 
ence "  based  on  the  Word  of  God  might  sound  in  the 
ears  of  their  despotic  and  irreligious  ally.  Queen 
Elizabeth,  expunged  the  passage  as  *'  unfit  to  be  en- 
treated at  this  time."  Knox  finds  room,  however,  to 
suggest  his  favourite  principles  in  a  passage  where  he 
grudgingly  admits  the  duty  "  of  loving  rulers  and  obey- 
ing their  charges,"  but  promptly  modifies  the  admission 
by  the  express  injunction,  "  to  repress  tyranny  and  save 
the  lives  of  innocents." 

On  August  17,  1560,  the  Confession  was  presented 
to  Parliament.  The  preachers  were  present,  "  standing 
on  their  feet,"  ready  to  meet  any  objection  to  their 
Articles.  None  was  made.  The  three  bishops  present, 
St.  Andrews,  Dunblane,  and  Dunkeld,  kept  a  prudent 
silence.  They  were  ecclesiastics,  not  theologians ;  it 
was  their  policy  to  save  what  they  could  of  their  vested 
interests,  and  to  trust  to  time  and  to  France  to  restore 
the  Church.  Of  the  temporal  lords,  Athol,  Somerville, 
and  Borthwick  had  the  fine,  unreasoning  loyalty  to 
dissent  on  the  grounds  that  they  would  believe  as  their 
fathers  had  believed.  "  The  ^rest  of  the  Lords,"  wrote 
Randolph,  an  eye-witness  of  the  scene,  "  with  common 
consent,  and  as  glad  a  will  as  ever  I  heard  men  speak, 
allowed  the  same."  There  was  nothing  in  the  Confession 
of  Faith  to  rouse  that  sinister  self-interest  which,  later 


THE  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH  95 

on,  was  to  frustrate  the  practical  work  of  the  Church. 
It  was  sincere  and  passionate  enthusiasm  that  possessed 
this  assembly  of  grave  men.  Statesmen,  soldiers,  self- 
willed  and  ignorant  noblemen,  all  equally  moved,  broke 
down  habitual  reticence ;  some  desired  rather  presently 
to  end  their  lives  than  ever  to  change  their  faith  ;  many 
offered  to  shed  their  blood  in  defence  of  it.  "  I  am  the 
oldest  in  this  company,"  said  Lord  Lindsay,  "  now  that 
it  hath  pleased  God  to  let  me  see  this  day,  wdiere  so 
many  nobles  and  others  have  allowed  so  worthy  a  work  ; 
I  will  say  with  Simeon  *  Nunc  Dimittis.' " 

While  men's  minds  were  still  in  this  high-wrought 
condition,  Parliament  passed  on  rapidly  to  clear  the  way 
for  the  establishment  of  the  Reformed  Church.  In 
one  day  the  authority  of  the  Pope  was  abrogated,  penal 
statutes  against  heresy  done  away,  the  Mass  abolished 
and  penalties  appointed,  both  to  such  as  heard  and  such 
as  celebrated  it.  In  so  short  a  time  does  prosperity  turn 
the  persecuted  into  the  persecuting  Church. 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE   BOOK   OF  DISCIPLINE  AND   THE   BOOK  OF   c;OMM0N 
ORDER. 

The  Confession  of  Faith  had,  in  its  noble  and  sonorous 
phrases,  given  utterance  aUke  to  the  intellectual  con- 
victions and  to  the  fervid  spiritual  life  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. The  next  thing  to  be  done  was  to  provide  the 
outward  body  of  a  Church,  in  and  through  which  the 
new  spirit  might  quicken,  transform  and  purify  the  life 
of  the  whole  people.  As  early  as  April  15G0  (while 
the  fortune  of  war  was  yet  uncertain)  the  Lords  had 
appointed  a  commission  to  draw  up  the  "Policy  and 
Discipline  of  the  Church."  The  men  chosen  for  the 
stupendous  task  of  reconstructing  the  Church,  and 
welding  it  firmly  into  the  popular  life,  were  remarkable 
for  eminence  and  for  the  variety  of  their  positions  and 
experiences.  Knox  and  Willock  were  the  recognized 
leaders  of  the  Reformation ;  Spottiswood  was  a  minister 
who,  for  his  learning  and  goodness,  was  immediately 
afterwards  elected  one  of  the  first  Superintendents; 
Dean  Winram  was  a  Churchman  of  such  consummate 
prudence  that  he  retained  the  office  of  Sub-Prior  of  St. 
Andrews  to  the  very  eve  of  the  Reformation,  and  im- 
mediately, on  its  triumph,  was  elected  Superintendent 


BOOKS  OF  DISClPLINfi  AND  COMMON  ORDER    97 

of  Fife,  without  any  one  having,  apparently,  called  his 
sincerity  in  question;  John  Douglas,  a  man  of  learn- 
ing and  of  gentle  but  feeble  character,  was  Rector  of 
St.  Andrews  University ;  John  Row  had  had  a  re- 
markable career,  first  as  a  distinguished  canonical 
lawyer  at  Rome,  and  since  his  conversion  to  the  Re- 
formed doctrines  as  the  first  teacher  of  Hebrew  in 
Scotland.  The  more  moderate  and  conservative  of 
these  commissioners,  recoo^nizing-  that  "  Government 
once  loosed  is  not  easily  again  fastened,"  were  anxious 
to  avoid  unnecessary  changes  in  the  outward  form  of 
religion.  But  Knox  had  seen  at  Geneva  the  perfect 
pattern  of  a  Church.  Nothing  less  austere  in  discipline 
and  severely  pure  in  doctrine  would  satisfy  him  in  his 
own  country.  He  expected  in  all  simplicity  that  his 
countrymen,  who  had  fought  and  suffered  for  Christ's 
true  Church,  would  be  disinterested  in  her  support,  and 
obedient  to  her  discipline.  Archbishop  Hamilton  who 
knew  the  world,  at  least  in  its  baser  aspects,  better  than 
Knox,  is  said  to  have  sent  him  a  message  that  "  he 
would  do  well  not  to  shake  loose  the  order  and  policy 
received  .  .  .  till  he  was  sure  of  a  better  to  be  settled 
in  the  place  of  it."  This  worldly  but  substantially 
sound  advice,  coming  from  a  suspected  quarter,  prob- 
ably only  increased  Knox's  determination  to  break  en- 
tirely with  the  past.  The  new  Church  was  to  rest  solely 
on  two  foundations,  the  unquestioned  authority  of  Holy 
Scripture  and  the  will  of  the  Christian  community. 

The  Booh  of  Discipline  reads  in  some  respects  like 
a  code  of  laws  for  an  ideal  Commonwealth,  so  liberal, 
practical,  and  statesman-like  are  many  of  its  regula- 
tions. In  one  or  two  respects  only  has  opposition  to 
the  Church  of  Rome  introduced  a  spirit  of  narrowness 

H 


98  JOHN   KNOX 

and  contradiction.  With  a  "  superstitious  avoidance  of 
superstition  "  it  is  demanded,  for  the  sake  of  reserving 
the  purity  of  the  new  Church,  that  all  existing  rehgious 
buildings  be  utterly  abolished,  except  such  as  are  parish 
churches  or  schools.  This  was  one  of  the  few  regula- 
tions destined  to  be  promptly  and  effectually  carried 
out.  In  the  following  summer  Lord  James  in  the  North, 
Arran  and  Argyle  in  the  West,  completed  systematic- 
ally what  the  blind  fanaticism  of  the  "rascal  multi- 
tude" bad  begun  in  the  previous  year.  This  dread  of 
the  hold  that  habit  has  on  the  minds  of  the  ignorant 
prompted  two  of  the  most  repellent  regulations  of  the 
Booh  of  Discipline.  Of  all  the  Churches  in  Christen- 
dom the  Scottish  alone  ignored  the  festivals  of  the 
Birth  and  Resurrection  of  her  Redeemer ;  and,  to  avoid 
all  false  opinion  concerning  the  state  of  the  soul  after 
death,  allowed  the  Christian  dead  to  be  laid  in  the 
grave  without  one  word  of  hope  or  faith  or  consolation. 
In  the  beginning  of  the  Booh  of  Disci]ilin&  it  is  laid 
down  that  the  main  functions  of  a  Church  are  the  true 
preaching  of  the  Word  apart  from  all  tradition,  and  the 
sincere  and  simple  administration  of  the  Sacraments. 
Two  of  the  greatest  and  most  permanent  services  of  the 
Reformation  were  the  gift  to  every  nation  of  the  Bible 
in  its  own  tongue,  and  the  restoration  of  the  Eucharist 
from  the  elaborate  mystery  of  the  Mass  to  the  touching 
simplicity  of  the  Supper  of  the  Lord.  The  Scottish 
Reformers  were  true  to  the  essential  principles  of  Pro- 
testantism when  they  insisted  that  the  main  element 
in  the  right  celebration  of  the  Sacrament  was  intelli- 
gent understanding  of  the  same  on  the  part  of  the 
minister  and  people.  For  this  end  the  heads  of  house- 
holds were  exhorted  to  cause  their  servants  and  children 


BOOKS  OF  DISCIPLINE  AND  COMMON  ORDER    99 

to  be  instructed  in  the  faith;  and,  for  the  same  end, 
weekly  meetings  were  ordered  to  be  held  in  the  churches 
for  the  discussion  and  expounding  of  Scripture.  But,  if 
men  were  exhorted  in  every  way  to  try  the  grounds  of 
their  own  faith,  it  was  always  with  the  proviso  that  the 
convictions  they  arrived  at  were  to  be  in  accord  with 
the  orthodox  teaching  of  the  Church.  This  condition 
might  have  proved  even  more  strangling  to  free  inquiry 
than  the  passive  obedience  exacted  by  Rome  if  the 
spirit  inherent  in  Protestantism  had  not  been  stronger 
than  the  narrow  bonds  of  its  accidental  forms. 

With  regard  to  the  Church  services  and  the  times 
and  seasons  most  convenient  for  these,  the  rules  are 
elastic  enough.  "  Every  particular  church,  by  their 
own  consent,  may  appoint  their  own  policy."  It  is 
notable  that  there  were  daily  services  in  the  larger 
towns,  and  even  in  the  smaller  service  was  held  on  one 
day  of  the  week  besides  Sunday.  Beyond  the  general 
injunction  "  that  the  Sabbath  be  straightly  kept,"  there 
is  no  emphasis  laid  on  what  came  to  be,  in  the  Scotland 
of  the  next  two  centuries,  the  most  important  com- 
mandment in  the  Decalogue.  Knox  himself  wrote 
letters,  made  journeys,  and  even  entertained  guests  of 
importance  on  Sunday, 

In  the  early  days  of  the  Reformation,  when  services 
had  been  held  secretly  in  noblemen's  households  and 
other  private  places.  King  Edward's  Prayer-Book  had 
been  used ;  as  soon  as  the  Reformation  was  established, 
the  Booh  of  Common  Order,  used  by  Knox's  congre- 
gation at  Geneva,  was  substituted.  But  the  use  of  this 
book  was  not  distinctly  enjoined  by  the  Booh  of  Disci- 
pline.  Knox  himself  seems  never  to  have  been  bound 
by  any  liturgy ;   he  preferred  extempore  prayers,  into 


100  JOHN  KNOX 

which  he  might  introduce  comments  and  criticisms  on 
contemporary  events.  The  vigorous  individuality  of 
many  of  his  fellow-preachers  and  their  horror  of  "vain 
repetitions"  seem  to  have  made  extempore  prayers  at 
least  as  much  the  rule  in  most  churches  as  the  use 
of  the  appointed  Prayer- Book.  It  would  appear  that 
the  Booh  of  Common  Order  gradually  fell  into  dis- 
use. It  cannot  be  regretted.  The  stereotyped  prayers 
of  the  Church,  sounding  constantly  in  men's  ears  from 
youth  to  age,  form  the  religious  mood  and  habit  of  a 
people  as  certainly  as  creeds  and  catechisms  form  their 
convictions.  It  was  well  for  the  obstinately  tenacious 
and  imaginative  people  of  Scotland  that  their  affec- 
tions and  superstitious  reverence  were  exclusively  given 
to  the  Bible.  Though  they  might  perversely  choose 
from  its  pages  the  passages  they  could  twist  to  suit 
the  harsher  and  darker  aspects  of  their  faith,  they  could 
not  prevent  the  beauty  and  dignity  and  consolation  of 
the  Book  from  passing  into  the  national  conscience  and 
imagination.  Fortunately  the  sharp  distinction  they 
made  between  the  Word  of  God  and  any  merely  human 
writing  prevented  their  attaching  any  superstitious  vener- 
ation to  the  Booh  of  Common  Order.  Had  they  done 
so,  it  would  but  have  strengthened  all  that  was  gloomy 
and  terrible  in  their  creed.  "  Heavy  souls  and  comfort- 
less, the  humble  hearts  and  consciences,  oppressed  and 
laden  with  the  grievous  burden  of  their  sins,"  could 
hardly  find  consolation  in  such  abject  deprecation  of 
God's  wrath  as  this,  "Wherefore,  forasmuch  as  we 
have  felt  Thy  stripes,  we  acknowledge  that  we  have 
justly  stirred  up  Thy  displeasure  against  us,  yea,  and 
yet  we  see  Thy  hand  lifted  up  to  beat  us  afresh ;  for  the 
rods  and  weapons  wherewith  Thou  art  accustomed  to 


BOOKS   OF  DISCIPLINE  AND  COMMON  ORDER    101 

execute  Thy  vengeance,  are  already  in  Thine  hand  ;  and 
the  threatenings  of  Thy  wrath,  which  Thou  usest  against 
the  wicked  sinners,  be  in  full  readiness."  The  over- 
whelming sense  of  God's  wrath  and  man's  corruption, 
which  monotonously  moulds  every  prayer  in  the  Booh 
of  Common  Order,  probably  reflects  faithfully  the  general 
religious  mood  of  the  Scottish  Reformers.  A  deep  sense 
of  sin  is  part  of  the  strength  and  reality  of  Calvinism  ; 
it  came  unfortunately  to  be  the  preponderating  ele- 
ment. Believers  clung  Avith  passionate  devotion  to  the 
idea  of  Christ,  but  it  was  Christ  the  innocent  and  suf- 
fering Victim  of  man's  sin  and  God's  justice,  or  Christ 
the  Judge  in  glory  coming  to  take  vengeance  on  His 
enemies;  there  is  hardly  a  suggestion  of  that  Jesus 
who  walked  in  Galilee,  who  loved  Mary  and  John,  who 
told  men  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  was  among  them, 
who  bade  them  to  be  perfect  even  as  their  Father 
which  is  in  Heaven  is  perfect.  In  proof  of  this,  we 
may  look  long  through  Knox's  collected  writings  and 
find  no  reference  to  the  sayings  of  Jesus  Christ. 

If  much  is  incomprehensible,  and  even  repellent  to  a 
modern  mind  in  the  religion  of  Knox  and  his  fellows, 
in  their  statesmanlike  and  liberal  scheme  of  Church 
polity  they  have  gone  far  beyond  modern  practice,  nor 
have  modern  ideas  conceived  anything  nobler  and  more 
practical  than  their  plan  which  combined  a  national 
Church,  a  national  system  of  education,  and  a  national 
charge  of  the  poor  and  the  sick. 

Though,  as  a  final  condition,  the  Church  looked 
forward  to, equality  among  her  Ministers,  the  needs  of 
the  times  made  it  necessary  to  introduce  several  degrees 
in  the  first  instance.  In  1560  there  were  at  most  some 
score  or  so  of  men  in  Scotland  recognized  as  true  and 


102  JOHN   KNOX 

capable  teachers ;  till  the  number  was  increased,  it  was 
expedient  that  the  most  eminent  of  these  should  be 
placed  in  the  chief  centres  as  Superintendents.  These 
were  to  travel  as  missionary  preachers  through  their 
own  districts,  and  exercise  authority  over  the  Ministers 
within  their  bounds.  Till  enough  godly  and  learned 
men  were  found  to  provide  Ministers  for  every  parish, 
the  smaller  places  were  to  be  supplied  with  "  Readers," 
men  capable  of  reading  the  Scriptures  and  the  Common 
Prayers,  but  not  allowed  to  administer  the  Sacraments. 
In  the  original  scheme  a  fourth  order  was  contemplated. 
Teachers  or  Doctors,  learned  men,  whose  office  should 
be  to  teach  the  faithful  in  sound  doctrine  and  guard  the 
purity  of  the  Gospel  from  all  heresies  and  false  opinions. 
A  lack  of  learned  men  in  the  beginning,  and  later  of 
endowments,  frustrated  the  hope  of  this  important  class 
ever  becoming  part  of  the  Church. 

The  only  "  holy  orders "  recognized  in  the  Booh  of 
Discipline  consisted  in  the  "  call "  from  the  congregation, 
and  the  admission  of  the  candidate  into  the  Church 
by  the  Superintendent,  neighbouring  Ministers  and 
Elders,  after  due  examination  of  his  life,  doctrine,  and 
capacity.  Beyond  the  public  expression  of  approbation, 
there  was  to  be  no  ceremony ;  "  imposition  of  hands  " 
is  explicitly  rejected,  the  Reformers  preferring  to  dis- 
agree with  Apostles  rather  than  to  agree  with  Papists. 
Besides  these  clerical  orders.  Superintendents,  Ministers, 
and  Readers,  the  Booh  of  Disci^jlinc  recognized  also  the 
offices  of  Elders  and  Deacons,  of  whom  the  latter  were 
to  have  in  charge  all  the  financial  business  of  the 
Church,  while  the  former  were  to  assist  the  Minister 
in  the  administration  of  Church  Discipline.  This 
Discipline,  which  is  perhaps  the  feature  of  the  Reformed 


BOOKS  OF  DISCIPLINE   AND  COMMON  ORDER    103 

Church  most  alien  to  our  modern  sympathy,  is  precisely 
the  point  which  men  like  Calvin  and  Knox  especially 
valued.  They  were  all  the  more  zealous  for  moral 
goodness  because  they  emphatically  repudiated  the 
merit  of  "  works."  They  felt  that  the  sins  of  "  pro- 
fessors" brought  intolerable  scandal  on  their  central 
dogma  of  the  all-sufficient  grace  of  God. 

Three  centuries  lie  between  us  and  the  Booh  of 
Discijyline.  The  biting  wit  of  Burns's  satires,  and  the 
trivial  tyranny  and  pharisaic  harshness  of  old  session 
books,  distort  our  views  of  what  was  probably  a  strong 
defence  against  licentiousness  and  disorder  at  a  time 
when  law  was  weak  and  men's  passions  ungovernably 
strong.  The  sins  dealt  with  by  Church  censure  were 
not  heresies,  nor  breaches  of  the  ceremonial  law,  but 
plain  moral  offences,  drunkenness,  fornication,  oppression 
of  the  poor  by  exactions,  false  weights  and  measures, 
excess  and  licentious  living.  The  sword  of  the  Church 
fell  heavily,  but  it  fell  slowly  and  deliberately  with 
many  pauses  to  allow  of  repentance.  All  estates  within 
the  kingdom  were  equally  subject  to  this  discipline,  the 
ruler  as  well  as  the  ruled;  Ministers,  as  being  "eyes 
and  mouth  of  the  Church,"  were  to  be  tried  with  special 
sharpness.  A  few  years  after  the  establishment  of  the 
Reformation,  one  of  the  most  eminent  preachers  fell 
into  mortal  sin ;  with  grief  and  shame,  but  with  relent- 
less rigour,  the  Church  subjected  the  erring  brother  to 
Discipline,  The  whole  system  was  founded  on  the 
conviction  of  the  radical  corruption  of  human  nature ; 
at  each  General  Assembly  Superintendents  were  sub- 
jected to  the  criticism  of  the  Ministers  in  their  district ; 
Ministers  were  subject  to  the  censure  of  their  Elders  ; 
Elders  and  Deacons  were  only  elected  for  one  year  lest 


104  JOHN  KNOX 

the  temptations  of  office  should  prove  too  much  for 
their  integrity. 

There  were  three  objects  for  which  the  funds  of  the 
Church  were  to  provide — (1)  stipends  for  Ministers  of 
all  grades,  (2)  support  of  the  poor,  (3)  maintenance  of 
schools  and  colleges.  Two  reasons  are  urged  for  liberal 
provision  to  be  made  for  Ministers.  It  was  necessary 
to  attract  the  best  and  most  learned  men  into  the 
Church.  "It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  every  man 
will  dedicate  himself  and  children  so  to  God,  and  to 
serve  His  Church,  that  they  look  for  no  worldly  com- 
modity .  .  .  and  sorry  would  we  be  that  poverty 
should  discourage  men  from  study  and  from  following 
the  way  of  virtue,  by  the  which  they  might  edify  the 
Cliurch  and  flock  of  Christ  Jesus."  Further,  if  the 
Ministers  were  to  have  sufficient  dignity  and  influence, 
it  was  necessary  that  they  should  have  "  neither  occasion 
of  solicitude,  neither  yet  of  insolency  and  wantonness," 
The  needs  of  a  Minister  were  held  to  include  books,  and 
the  claims  of  a  simple  hospitality ;  their  stipends  were 
calculated  to  put  them  on  a  level  with  lairds  of  moderate 
rental;  and,  because  good  men  are  chiefly  distracted 
from  the  public  service  by  a  natural  and  laudable 
anxiety  for  wife  and  children,  the  Church  was  to 
provide  for  these  after  the  Minister's  death,  taking  care 
that  the  children  received  good  learning  or  were  started 
in  an  honest  trade. 

The  care  of  the  poor  is  recognized  as  a  distinct  duty 
of  the  Church,  not  by  the  easy  and  extravagant  method 
of  alms-giving,  but  by  regulations  which  anticipate  our 
modern  poor-law.  "All  must  not  be  suffered  to  beg 
that  gladly  would  do  so  .  .  .  but  the  stout  and  strong 
beggar  must  be  compelled  to  work,  and  every  person 


BOOKS  OF  DISCIPLINE  AND  COMMON  ORDER    105 

that  may  not  work  must  be  compelled  to  return  to  the 
place  where  he  or  she  was  born." 

But  the  crowning  work  of  the  Book  of  Disciijline  is 
the  liberal  and  enlightened  scheme  for  education.  The 
general  plea  for  education  is  laid  down  with  noble 
breadth  and  unhesitating  authority.  "  No  father,"  it 
is  declared,  "  of  Avhat  state  or  condition  ever  he  be,  may 
use  his  children  at  his  own  fantasy,  especially  in  their 
youth,  but  all  must  be  compelled  to  bring  up  their 
children  in  learning  and  virtue."  This  compulsion 
applies  to  all  estates  equally.  "The  rich  and  potent 
may  not  be  permitted  to  suffer  their  children  to  spend 
their  youth  in  vain  idleness  as  heretofore  they  have 
done."  They  must  dedicate  their  sons  to  the  profit  of 
Church  and  Commonwealth  by  the  proper  studies, 
"and  this  they  must  do  at  their  own  expense,  because 
they  are  able."  And,  that  no  virtue  nor  talent  may  be 
lost  to  the  State  for  lack  of  nurture,  poor  children  are 
to  be  kept  at  school  at  the  charge  of  the  Church  till  it 
be  seen  "if  the  spirit  of  docility  be  found  in  them." 
All,  rich  and  poor  alike,  that  are  found  apt  to  learn  are 
to  "be  charged  to  continue  their  study  so  that  the 
Commonwealth  may  have  some  comfort  of  them." 
p]ven  more  than  the  State,  the  Church  is  interested 
"  in  the  virtuous  and  godly  upbringing  of  the  youth  of 
this  realm,"  seeing  that  she  must,  in  the  time  coming, 
be  served  by  their  labour  and  learning.  Nothing  can 
be  more  practical  and  complete  than  the  scheme  of 
national  education.  In  remote  "upland"  places,  the 
Minister  or  Reader  is  to  take  care  that  the  children  learn 
their  rudiments,  and  are  instructed  in  the  catechism. 
In  towns  a  school-master,  able  to  teach  grammar  and 
the  Latin  tongue,  is  to  be  attached  to  every  church  ; 


106  JOHN  KNOX 

every  large  town  is  to  have  a  college — what  we  should 
call  a  secondary  school — where  the  "  Arts,  at  least  Logic 
and  Rhetoric  and  the  Tongues,"  may  be  taught  by 
approved  masters,  "for  wliom  honest  stipends  must  be 
appointed,"  All  education  is  to  lead  up  to  and  be 
completed  by  the  University.  There,  after  a  liberal 
training  in  "  the  Arts,  Tongues,  and  Philosophy,"  each 
youth  must  study  the  subjects  "in  which  he  intends 
chiefly  to  travail  for  the  profit  of  the  Commonwealth." 

Large  and  enlightened  as  the  scheme  appears,  even 
in  our  own  days  of  popular  education,  it  would,  if  it  had 
been  carried  out,  have  found  the  people  of  Scotland 
ready  and  eager  to  accept  it.  This  proud  and  ambitious 
race  had  always  had  zeal  for  education  and  respect  for 
learning.  Schools  and  school-masters  appear  in  Acts 
of  Parliament  from  very  early  times.  The  compulsory 
clause  in  Knox's  scheme  is  anticipated  by  the  famous 
Act  of  1496,  which  enjoins  on  barons  and  freeholders 
"  to  put  their  eldest  sons  to  the  schools  from  they  be 
eight  or  ten  till  they  be  competently  founded  and  have 
perfect  Latin,  and  thereafter  to  remain  three  years  at 
the  schools  of  Art  and  Jure,  so  that  they  may  have 
knowledge  and  understanding  of  the  laws." 

If  this  threefold  scheme  of  national  civilization 
required  large  endowments,  the  patrimony  of  the  Church 
was  ample  enough  to  meet  all  demands.  Some  writers 
compute  it  as  half  the  whole  wealth  of  the  country, 
others  as  one-third.  But  Knox  was  sanguine  indeed 
when  he  expected  that  the  wealth  which  had  kept  the 
old  Church  in  idleness  and  luxury  was  to  be  handed 
over  to  keep  the  new  in  learning  and  holiness.  Even 
if  the  Church's  wealth  had  still  been  unappropriated, 
it    is    certain   that    the    greedy   and    poverty-stricken 


BOOKS  OF  DISCIPLINE  AND  COMMON   ORDER    107 

Nobility  would  have  secured  their  own  share  before 
considering  the  claims  of  religion.  As  it  was,  much  of 
the  property  had  already  passed  into  the  hands  of  lay- 
men. Some  had  been  frankly  confiscated  during  the 
civil  war.  Some  of  the  larger  benefices  had  been  held 
"  in  commendam  "  for  young  laymen,  who  adopted  the 
new  faith  but  never  renounced  the  profits  of  their 
benefices.  Lord  James,  for  instance,  enjoyed  the  rents 
of  Pittenweem  and  St.  Andrews  to  the  day  of  his  death 
without  a  shadow  of  compunction.  Much  Chm'ch 
property  had  passed  into  lay  hands  through  the  system 
of  feuing  out  tithes  and  letting  Church  lands  on  lonsc 
leases.  When  the  civil  war  broke  out,  Churchmen, 
afraid  of  losing  all,  had  made  over  rents  and  tithes  to 
friends  or  kinsfolk,  making  what  terms  they  could. 
Many  of  these  present  holders  were  Protestants  and, 
with  indignation,  the  Reformers  saw  them  intent  on 
making  the  most  of  their  bargains,  and  pressing  the 
tenants  as  cruelly  as  ever  their  old  masters  had  done. 
"  Ye  must  have  compassion  upon  your  brethren,"  runs 
a  noble  passage  in  the  Booh  of  Discipline,  "  appointing 
them  such  reasonable  teinds  that  they  may  feel  some 
benefit  of  Jesus  Christ,  now  preached  to  them."  But, 
though  it  was  a  grievance  that  the  labourer  of  the  earth 
should  be  taxed,  not  to  maintain  the  Church,  but  "  to 
feed  delicately  the  idle  belly  of  some  priest's  pensioner," 
there  was  to  be  no  violent  confiscation ;  those  who  had 
disbursed  money  were  to  receive  just  compensation. 

The  Booh  of  Discipline  had  to  be  examined  by  the 
Lords  of  the  Articles,  the  twelve  peers  appointed  to 
govern  in  the  Queen's  absence  ;  they  were  precisely  the 
men  who  had  secured  most  of  the  spoil  for  themselves 
or  their  friends.      The  Reformers,  with  their  wonted 


108  JOHN   KNOX 

fearlessness,  ended  the  book  with  the  solemn  warning, 
that  if  blind  affection  moved  them  to  prefer  the  profit 
of  their  carnal  friends  to  the  freedom  of  God's  oppressed 
Church,  sharp  and  sudden  punishment  would  fall  on 
them,  "  and  the  glory  and  honour  of  this  enterprise  Avill 
be  reserved  for  others." 

In  January  1561  the  book  was  submitted  to  the 
Council.  It  was  not  generally  approved.  Lethington 
with  his  sharp  Avit  summed  up  the  feelings  of  his  less 
articulate  fellows  when  he  dismissed  as  "devout  imagin- 
ation," one  of  the  noblest  schemes  ever  devised  for 
civilizing  and  educating  a  nation.  Of  all  the  noblemen 
and  lairds  present,  Lord  Erskine  alone  had  the  honesty 
to  refuse  to  sign  what  would  have  condemned  his  large 
appropriation  of  Church  lands ;  the  rest  signed  readily 
enough,  however  much  certain  regulations  "  repugned 
to  their  corrupt  affections." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

RETURN    OF   MARY   STUART.      (1561.) 

At  once  sobered  and  exalted  by  the  momentous 
changes  that  had  passed  over  the  Church  and  State,  the 
Scottish  people  preserved  a  most  unusual  order  and 
stability  under  the  provisional  government  of  the 
Lords  of  the  Articles.  "It  passes  the  judgment  of  all 
men  of  experience  ..."  writes  Lord  James,  "  and  is 
reckoned  a  manifest  miracle  of  God."  Even  the  more 
sceptical  Lethington  was  at  a  loss  to  find  a  reason  for 
the  extraordinary  quietness  of  the  realm,  "but  only 
that  it  hath  pleased  the  goodness  of  God  to  give  this 
glory  to  His  Truth  preached  among  us." 

While  the  vengeance  that  might  at  any  moment  fall 
on  them  from  France  still  tarried,  the  Scottish  noble- 
men attempted  to  ally  themselves  still  more  closely 
with  England.  In  October  1560  an  embassy  was  sent 
to  Elizabeth  to  urge  her  to  marry  Arran.  If  he  were 
not  a  king  he  was  the  next  in  place,  and,  they  assured 
her,  would  have  the  whole  force  and  friendship  of  the 
kingdom  at  his  back.  Mary  Stuart  and  her  claims 
were  strangely  ignored  in  this  proposal,  which  however 
so  flattered  the  national  vanity  of  the  Scots  that  Leth- 
ington was  bold  to  declare,  "  There  is  a  general  consent 


no  JOHN  KNOX 

amongst  the  whole  nation,  the  very  Papists  can  be  con- 
tent, for  the  accomphshment  thereof,  to  renounce  their 
great  god,  the  Pope."  While  Elizabeth  hesitated  or 
affected  to  hesitate,  an  event  occurred  which  changed  the 
whole  fate  of  Europe. 

John  Knox  had  correspondents  in  all  the  Protestant 
Churches  in  France,  and  even  at  the  Court.  Early  in 
December  1560  a  ship  arriving  in  Leith  brought  him 
the  news  that  Francis,  the  young  French  King,  was 
mortally  sick.  That  same  afternoon  he  sought  out  the 
Duke  at  his  lodgings  in  the  ruinous  Kirk-of-Field,  and, 
as  it  happened,  found  Lord  James  in  his  company. 
While  Knox  announced  his  great  news,  a  messenger, 
arriving  post-haste  from  England,  brought  further 
tidings  of  the  death  of  the  French  King.  If  this  news 
removed  the  imminent  danger  of  conflict  with  France, 
it  also  opened  up  new  difficulties.  But  to  Knox  the 
death  or  downfall  of  his  enemies  was  always  a  "joyful 
deliverance  sent  by  the  hand  of  God."  Of  the  painful 
death  of  young  Francis  he  writes  with  savage  satisfac- 
tion :  "  For,  unhappy  Francis  suddenly  perished  of  a 
rotten  ear  .  .  .  that  deaf  ear  that  never  could  hear  the 
truth  of  God." 

And  yet  at  that  very  moment  Knox's  private  sorrow 
might  have  softened  his  heart  and  tempered  his  tongue, 
even  in  recording  the  death  of  the  reprobate.  His 
young  wife  had  just  died,  and,  in  the  midst  of  his  cares 
for  the  Commonwealth,  he  mentions  the  fact  in  a  sad, 
abrupt  little  parenthesis :  "  They  three  were  familiarly 
communing  together,  he  upon  the  one  part  comforting' 
them,  and  they  upon  the  other  part  comforting  him 
(for  he  was  in  no  small  heaviness  by  reason  of  the 
late  death  of  his  dear  bedfellow,  Marjorie  Bowes)."    With 


RETURN  OF  MARY  STUART  Ul 

a  similar  pathetic  brevity  Ezekiel  has  recorded  the 
death  of  his  wife  :  "  Also  the  word  of  the  Lord  came 
unto  me,  saying,  '  Son  of  man,  behold,  I  take  away 
from  thee  the  desire  of  thine  eyes  with  a  stroke  :  yet 
neither  shalt  thou  mourn  nor  weep,  neither  shall  thy 
tears  run  down.'  ...  So  I  spake  unto  the  people  in 
the  morning  :  and  at  even  my  wife  died." 

Very  little  is  known  of  Marjorie  Bowes'  married  life. 
Scanty  references  in  her  husband's  letters  suggest  that 
there  was  much  hard  work  and  little  ease  or  cheerful- 
ness in  the  young  wife's  lot.  Knox  calls  her  his  "  left 
hand,"  and  employed  her  constantly  as  his  secretary. 
Some  of  the  endless  letters  resolving  the  doubts  of  his 
"  sisters  in  Christ "  are  in  her  clear,  fine  handwriting. 
Sometimes,  when  she  was  overworked,  these  precious 
answers  were  mislaid.  "She  cannot  find  my  first 
extract,"  Knox  wrote  apologetically,  "  but  the  rest  of  my 
wife  has  been  so  unrestful  since  her  arriving  here,  that 
scarcely  could  she  tell  upon  the  morrow  what  she  wrote 
at  night."  Calvin,  in  his  conventional  Latin,  writes  of 
her  as  "  dilectissima  uxor,"  so  she  probably  fulfilled  his 
requirements  in  a  wife,  and  had  "  good  humour,  chastity, 
thrift,  patience,  and  solicitude  for  her  husband's  health." 
She  left  Knox  with  two  young  children,  Nathaniel  and 
Ebenezer;  and  a  year  later  her  mother  Mrs.  Bowes 
came  to  live  in  Knox's  house  in  the  Netherbow,  to  be 
a  "relief  to  him  in  the  burden  of  the  household,"  and  a 
burden  to  him  in  the  relief  of  her  conscience. 

In  January  1561  the  ambassadors  returned  from 
London,  bringing  Elizabeth's  answer  that  she  *'  would 
not  marry  hastily,  and  so  willed  the  Council  of  Scotland 
and  the  Earl  of  Arran  not  to  depend  on  any  hope 
thereof."     It  was  a  rebuff  to  the  national  vanity;  at 


112  JOHN  KNOX 

least  the  noblemen  chose  to  receive  it  as  such.  It  gave 
those  on  whom  the  English  alliance  sat  uneasily  an 
excuse  for  turning  their  wishes  and  devotion  in  the 
direction  of  their  own  Queen,  whose  favour  it  was  im- 
portant to  conciliate.  Arran  had  not  even  waited  for 
Elizabeth's  reply ;  he  was  already  urging  his  suit  with 
Mary.  And  the  confidant  of  this  indecently  hasty 
proposal  was,  of  all  men,  Knox  !  "  My  Lord  Arran 
Avriteth  also  to  the  Connetable,"  wrote  Randolph 
alluding  to  this  matter.  "  Of  all  these  matters  there 
is  no  man  privy  but  Knox." 

Mary — the  widow  of  a  month's  standing — sent  no 
encouraging  reply  to  her  inopportune  suitor.  Thrown 
by  the  death  of  her  husband  from  one  of  the  proudest 
positions  in  Europe  to  the  premature  obscurity  of  a 
Dowager  Queen,  her  ambition  was  set  "on  the  con- 
tinuation of  her  honour,"  and  on  marriage  with  *'  one 
Avho  may  uphold  her  to  be  great."  She  was  the  most 
important  member  of  the  most  ambitious  family  in 
Europe.  The  Guises  were  stout  soldiers  of  France,  and 
faithful  servants  of  Rome,  but  their  staunchest  loyalty 
was  devotion  to  the  House  of  Guise,  their  sincerest 
religion  faith  in  the  family  fortune.  The  ambition  of 
this  powerful  and  curiously  united  family  centred,  at 
this  period,  in  their  young  kinswoman,  the  Queen  of 
Scots.  It  was  a  century  which  had  seen  the  face  of 
Europe  changed  by  fortunate  marriages,  and  with  her 
beauty,  wit,  and  singular  fascination,  Mary  might  aspire 
to  any  alliance.  She  was,  besides,  not  merely  a  reign- 
ing sovereign  in  her  own  right,  she  was  next  heir  to 
the  throne  of  England.  To  secure  the  recognition  of 
this  claim,  and  on  the  strength  of  it  to  ally  herself 
with  one  of  the  great  Catholic  dynasties,  was  the  end 


RETUEN  OF  MARY  STUART  113 

of  all  Mary's  thoughts  from  the  moment  of  her  husband's 
death.  In  the  great  game  which  the  Guises  were 
playing  for  predominance  in  the  politics  of  Europe,  this 
girl  of  nineteen  was  no  mere  card  in  the  hands  of 
practised  players,  she  was  herself  an  eager  and  skilful 
partner.  Under  a  hundred  aspects,  gay,  pensive,  spirited, 
or  gracious,  she  could  cover  a  settled  purpose  with  a 
deep  dissimulation.  She  used  her  personal  fascination 
with  feminine  adroitness  in  the  game  of  diplomacy,  but 
she  could  also  flash  into  sudden  decision  with  the 
vigour  and  persistence  of  a  man.  Her  uncles  had  freely 
admitted  her  into  their  councils ;  the  Cardinal  discussed 
in  her  presence  questions  of  politics  and  religion.  She 
was  familiar  with  the  controversial  commonplaces  of 
Catholic  theology ;  Calvin's  and  Luther's  writings  were 
certainly  among  her  books,  and  she  knew  at  least  some 
of  the  stock  arguments  used  to  refute  them.  What 
her  uncles  could  not  teach  her,  and  what  it  was  fatal 
to  her  to  ignore,  was  the  strength  and  reality  of  the 
new  religious  spirit.  She  expressed  her  serene  and 
simple  conviction  when  she  said  to  the  English  am- 
bassador Throgmorton:  "God  doth  command  subjects 
to  be  obedient  to  their  princes,  and  commands  princes 
to  read  His  Law  and  govern  thereby  themselves  and 
the  people  committed  to  their  charge."  She  had  heard 
of  Knox  and  was  fully  persuaded  that  he  was  the  most 
dangerous  of  her  enemies,  declaring  hotly  to  Throg- 
morton that  she  would  either  banish  him  from  her 
kingdom  or  refuse  to  dwell  there  herself.  She  sent  a 
copy  of  the  First  Blast  to  Elizabeth,  as  if  to  make 
common  cause  with  a  sister-queen  equally  outraged  in 
her  prerogative.  It  is  amusing  and  curiously  illustrative 
of  her  anomalous  position,  to  find  Knox  adopting  the 


114  JOHN  KNOX 

same  attitude  of  partnership  with  the  English  Queen. 
He  tells  her  that  the  Queen  of  Scots  is  going  to  have 
the  First  Blast  refuted,  and,  "though  he  will  not 
prescribe  unto  her  Majesty  what  is  to  be  done,"  he  adds 
the  warning  that  "  she  (^.  c.  Mary)  would  not  take  such 
pains,  unless  her  crafty  counsel  in  so  doing  shot  at  a 
further  mark."  Elizabeth's  counsellors  at  least  recog- 
nized Knox's  importance  as  an  ally.  Throgmortou 
likened  Mary's  attempt  to  "make  him  odious"  to 
Elizabeth  to  the  efforts,  of  Philip  of  Macedon  to 
discredit  Demosthenes  with  the  Athenians. 

In  the  meantime  in  Scotland,  Knox  and  the  other 
"people  committed  to  her  charge"  were  debating  whether 
Mary  might  be  allowed  to  have  her  private  Mass  in  her 
own  kingdom.  Nowhere  in  Europe  could  Catholic  Mass 
and  Protestant  Sermon  exist  side  by  side.  Knox  fore- 
saw intolerable  evils  in  any  exception  being  made  for 
Mary,  and  plainly  warned  Lord  James  that  if  "  he  con- 
descended that  she  should  have  Mass  either  publicly 
or  privately  Avithin  the  realm  of  Scotland,  that  then 
betrayed  he  the  cause  of  God."  "  That  she  should  have 
the  Mass  publicly,"  replied  Lord  James,  "  that  I  will 
never  consent  to,  but  to  have  it  secretly  in  her  chamber, 
who  can  stop  her  ? "  He,  as  her  nearest  kinsman,  had 
been  appointed  to  go  to  the  Queen  in  France.  The 
day  before  he  arrived  at  the  little  town  in  Champagne, 
where  he  was  to  meet  her,  Leslie  a  Scottish  Catholic 
Bishop  (afterwards  so  closely  associated  with  Mary) 
brought  her  secret  messages  from  the  Catholic  noble- 
men  and  prelates  in  Scotland,  offering,  if  she  would 
trust  herself  to  them  and  land  at  Aberdeen,  to  put 
20,000  men  into  the  field  and  to  march  against  her 
enemies.      Mary   knew   that  so   rash   a   policy  would 


RETURN  OF  MARY  STUART  115 

destroy  for  ever  her  chance  of  the  English  succession, 
and  gratefully  refused  this  offer.  She  received  her 
brother  with  that  cordiality  which  she  knew  so  well  how 
to  make  special  and  flattering.  He  might  refuse  indeed 
with  emphasis,  the  Church  preferments  lavishly  promised 
if  he  would  renounce  his  religious  opinions,  but  she 
succeeded  in  shaking  his  devotion  to  Elizabeth.  He 
might  still  aim  at  a  union  with  England,  but  it  was 
no  longer  through  the  marriage  of  the  English  Queen 
with  the  contingent  heir  of  the  Scottish  throne,  but 
through  her  recognition  of  Mary  as  her  successor. 
Elizabeth  might  well  feel  indignant  at  the  fickleness 
and  ingratitude  of  the  Scots,  when  the  most  reason- 
able and  responsible  of  them  faltered  in  fulfilling  his 
engagement. 

On  August  19, 1561,  Mary  landed  at  Leith  in  a  dense 
chill  fog.  With  that  superstitious  looking  for  signs  so 
characteristic  of  him,  Knox  records  that  "  the  very  face 
of  Heaven  the  time  of  her  arrival  did  manifestly  speak 
what  comfort  was  brought  into  this  country  with  her — 
to  wit,  sorrow,  dolour,  darkness,  and  all  impiety."  Had 
she  been  so  inclined,  Mary  might  have  seen  worse 
omens  in  the  fact  that,  arriving  unexpectedly,  no  pre- 
parations were  made  to  receive  her,  and  that  Holyrood 
— bald  and  meagre  at  best  compared  to  French  palaces 
— was  but  half  furnished.  But  she  was  in  no  mood 
for  fault-finding.  It  was  not  only  her  policy  to  be 
pleased,  it  was  part  of  her  superb  vitality  that  she  could 
adapt  herself  to  all  circumstances  and  find  pleasure  in 
doing  so.  If  she  missed  the  refinement  and  brilliance 
of  the  French  Court,  she  "delighted  above  all  things 
to  hear  of  brave  deeds,"  and  could  take  pleasure  in  the 
strength  and  courage  of  her  Scottish  Nobility.    She  said 


116  JOHN  KNOX 

once  that  she  longed  to  know  "  what  a  life  that  was  to 
lie  in  the  fields  and  walk  on  the  causeway  with  a 
Glasgow  buckler  and  broadsword." 

At  once  on  her  arrival  she  set  herself  to  the  congenial 
task  of  winning  all  hearts.  With  the  people  she  had 
the  frank,  affable  manner  that  had  gained  for  her  father 
his  title  of  "  King  of  the  Commons."  Grave  lords  were 
won  when  this  girl  of  nineteen  could  sit  morning  after 
morning  in  the  council  chamber  attentive  to  matters 
of  State,  her  beautiful  hands  occupied  with  some  feminine 
task.  She  could  at  will  surround  her  brilliant  person- 
ality with  a  gentle  pathos  as  irresistible  as  was  the  effect 
of  her  bright  beauty  in  the  widow's  dress  she  Avore  at 
times.  "  Our  Queen  weareth  the  dule  (weeds),  but  she 
can  dance  daily,  dule  and  all,"  is  Knox's  sour  comment. 
It  was  her  fixed  policy  to  conciliate  the  Protestant 
Lords  and  induce  them  to  support  her  in  refusing  to 
ratify  the  Treaty  of  Leith.  She  flattered  Lord  James 
by  submitting  in  all  things  to  his  judgment,  and  gratified 
him  by  substantial  grants  of  lands.  Lethington  knew 
himself  to  be  suspected  by  the  Queen  as  "the  best 
Englishman  of  them  all,"  but,  as  soon  as  they  met,  her 
confiding  frankness  won  him  completely  to  her  service. 
Glencairn  was  the  staunchest  of  Protestants,  yet  it 
passed  current  "  that  nothing  he  said  ever  came  amiss 
to  her."  Randolph  was  a  prejudiced  observer,  but  her 
courtesy  and  apparent  frankness  won  him  over  to 
believe  that  she  really  meant  well  to  his  mistress. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

KNOX'S   FIRST   INTERVIEW   WITH   MARY. 

The  first  week  after  her  arrival  Mary  put  in  jeopardy 
lier  newly-won  popularity.  On  Sunday  August  24, 
Mass  was  celebrated  in  the  Abbey  of  Holyrood.  There 
was  instant  outcry  among  the  extreme  Protestants 
about  the  Court,  "  Lord  Lindsay  and  the  gentlemen  of 
Fife  crying  plainly  in  the  close,  *  The  idolater  priest 
shall  die  the  death  ! ' "  Panic  seized  the  French 
attendants ;  but  for  the  interposition  of  Mary's  three 
half-brothers,  her  Mass  must  have  been  stopped.  Lord 
James  ("  the  man  whom  all  the  godly  did  most  rever- 
ence ")  himself  kept  the  door,  while  Lord  John  and  Lord 
Robert  between  them  guarded  the  priest  back  to  his 
chamber.  In  the  afternoon  great  companies  repaired 
to  the  Abbey  to  signify  that  they  would  not  suffer  the 
land  to  be  polluted  with  idolatry.  It  was  the  first 
time  Mary  heard  the  angry  mutterings  of  that  fierce 
Edinburgh  mob,  Avhich  was  to  play  the  part  of  ominous 
chorus  in  all  the  most  tragic  moments  of  her  stormy 
years  in  Scotland.  Thanks  to  her  own  tact,  and  the 
moderation  of  her  counsellors,  on  this  occasion  all 
danger  of  conflict  was  tided  over.  During  the  ensuing 
week  eminent  Protestants  flocked  to  Edinburgh  to  utter 
an  indignant  protest,  but  only  to  prove  that  the  atmo- 


118  JOHN   KNOX 

sphere  of  the  Court  was  like  "  some  enchantment  where- 
by men  were  bewitched,"  *'  I  have  been  here  five 
weeks,"  wrote  Campbell  of  Kinyeancleucb,  whose  own 
virtue  was  untouched,  to  Lord  Ochiltree,  "and  at  first 
I  heard  every  man  say,  '  Let  us  hang  the  priest,'  but 
after  they  had  been  twice  or  tbrice  at  the  Abbey,  all  that 
fervency  was  past."  "  There  is  not  one  who  doth  absent 
himself,"  wrote  Randolph,  "...  saving  John  Knox  that 
thundereth  out  of  the  pulpit,"  All  through  the  week 
Knox  had  seen  the  defection  of  the  godly ;  on  Sunday 
he  spoke  out  of  the  bitterness  of  his  soul,  saying,  "that 
one  Mass  was  more  fearful  to  him  than  if  ten  thousand 
armed  enemies  were  landed  in  any  part  of  the  realm 
of  purpose  to  suppress  the  whole  religion,"  With  the 
instincts  of  a  high-spirited  woman,  Mary  recognized  in 
Knox  her  one  implacable  foe,  and  determined  to  meet 
him  without  delay.  On  tlie  Tuesday  after  his  sermon 
he  was  summoned  to  Holyrood.  Mary  received  him  in 
the  council  chamber.  Lord  James  was  in  attendance, 
but  took  no  part  in  the  interview  ;  two  waiting-women 
stood  at  the  far  end  of  the  room.  Mary  Stuart  and 
John  Knox  stood  face  to  face,  two  of  the  most  remark- 
able figures  of  any  time  or  country.  She  was  at  the 
height  of  her  glorious  beauty;  the  fine,  liberal  outlines 
of  her  features  were  softened  and  rounded  by  youth  and 
health,  while  strong  vitality  and  a  sense  of  power  gave 
the  sparkle  and  fascination  that  no  painter  could  repro- 
duce. She  saw  before  her  a  man  already  old,  below 
middle  height,  but  broad  and  well-made  ;  a  long  black 
beard,  already  grizzled,  shaded  the  lower  part  of  the 
dark  face,  while  deep-set  grey  eyes  looked  out  keenly 
from  under  the  narrow  but  prominent  brow.  Both 
were  accustomed  to  read  the  characters  of  men  quickly 


KNOX'S  FIRST   INTERVIEW  WITH  MARY      119 

and  keenly.  In  the  beautiful  girl  opposite  him  Knox 
recognized  the  power  of  a  practised  diplomatist.  "In 
communicating  with  her,"  he  wrote  to  Cecil,  "  I  espied 
such  craft  as  I  have  not  found  in  such  age."  In  the 
grave,  worn  preacher  Mary  found  an  unhesitating 
authority  and  a  disregard  alike  of  her  womanly  charms 
and  her  royal  prerogative  that  for  the  moment  almost 
disconcerted  her.  If  she  failed  to  measure  fully  the 
power  of  her  opponent,  it  was  because  that  spiritual  life 
from  which  it  was  drawn  was  blank  and  meaningless  to 
her.  She  met  him  with  reproaches  ;  he  had  written  a 
book  denying  her  lawful  authority ;  he  had  incited  her 
subjects  against  her ;  he  had  stirred  up  sedition  in 
England.  He  had  his  answers  ready.  As  for  his  book 
against  the  rule  of  women,  he  was  prepared  to  defend 
his  doctrine  but  not  to  act  on  it.  He  was  "as  content 
to  live  under  her  Grace  as  was  Paul  to  live  under 
Nero."  Where  she  accused  him  of  stirring  up  sedition 
in  England,  he  could  assure  her  that  the  fruits  of  his 
labour  had  been  peace  and  order.  But  these  matters 
were  beside  the  mark  Mary  aimed  at.  She  made  now 
a  direct  accusation.  "  Ye  have  taught  the  people  to 
receive  another  religion  than  princes  can  allow,  nor  can 
that  doctrine  be  of  God,  seeing  God  commands  subjects 
to  obey  their  princes."  To  Mary  nations  were  but 
"  subjects,"  counters  in  the  great  political  game  princes 
played  with  one  another ;  to  Knox,  princes  were  as 
other  men,  except  that  they  had  often  a  more  formid- 
able power  of  obstructing  the  word  of  God.  "  Princes," 
he  replied  austerely,  "  were  often  the  most  ignorant  of 
God's  true  religion."  As  for  the  obedience  of  subjects, 
it  extends  no  further  than  the  law  of  God  allows. 
Children  are  not  bound  to  obey  a  father  seized  with 


120  JOHN  KNOX 

madness,  but  may  bind  and  restrain  him ;  not  otherwise 
is  the  duty  of  subjects  to  princes  who  in  their  blind 
wrath  would  destroy  the  children  of  God.  Three  cen- 
turies of  revolution  and  of  constitutional  government 
have  made  these  commonplaces;  to  Mary  they  were 
incredible.  "  At  these  words,  the  Queen  stood,  as  it 
were,  amazed  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour."  At  length  she 
spoke,  and,  in  her  angry  surprise,  hit  very  near  the 
mark.  "  Well,  then,  I  perceive  that  my  subjects  shall 
obey  you  and  not  mc." 

"  Let  both  princes  and  subjects  obey  God  .  .  .  and 
this  subjection,  Madame,  unto  God  and  unto  His 
troubled  Church,  is  the  greatest  dignity  that  flesh  can 
get  upon  earth." 

But  it  was  another  Church,  Mary  objected,  that  she 
was  willing  to  obey.  "  Ye  interpret  the  Scripture  in  one 
manner,  and  they  (the  Church  of  Rome)  in  another ; 
whom  shall  I  believe  ? "  she  asked,  astutely  hitting  a 
weak  point  in  the  pretensions  of  the  Reformed  Church. 

"  Ye  shall  believe  God  that  plainly  speaketh  in  His 
Word,"  answered  Knox. 

Mary,  who  had  never  "  laid  her  faith  to  the  square- 
rule  of  God's  Word,"  had  no  patience  to  listen  while 
Knox  expounded  hoAV  plainly  the  Scriptures  condemned 
the  Mass.  "  Ye  are  too  hard  for  me,"  she  broke  in, 
"  but  if  tlicy  were  here  that  I  have  heard,  tliey  would 
answer  you." 

Throughout  the  interview  Knox  had  been  severely 
plain-spoken,  but  he  had  not  been  churlish.  Taking  his 
leave,  he  said,  "  I  pray  God,  Madame,  that  ye  may  be  as 
blessed  within  the  Commonwealth  of  Scotland  (if  it  be 
the  pleasure  of  God)  as  ever  Deborah  was  in  the  Com- 
monwealth of  Israel."     But  in  his  heart  he  had  little 


KNOX'S  FIRST   INTERVIEW  WITH   MARY      121 

doubt  Avhat  "  the  pleasure  of  God  "  with  Mary  would  bo. 
"  If  there  be  not  in  her  a  proud  mind,  a  crafty  wit,  and 
an  indurate  heart  against  God  and  His  truth,  my 
judgment  faileth  me." 

Afterwards,  when  the  troubles  he  had  foreseen  came 
upon  the  country,  Knox  accused  himself  bitterly  that 
he  had  not  been  more  "  vehement  and  upright "  against 
"  that  idol — the  Mass."  Had  he  willed  it  he  might  have 
plunged  the  country  into  civil  war.  "God  had  given 
me  credit  with  many  who  would  have  put  in  execution 
God's  judgments  if  I  would  only  have  consented."  At 
the  tune  however  his  practical  sagacity  saved  him  from 
so  fatal  a  course.  A  following  he  would  have  had 
among  the  burghers  and  smaller  lairds,  but  the  men  of 
leading  would  have  been  united  against  him.  Arran 
alone,  moody  and  disappointed,  would  have  been  on  his 
side,  and  to  have  fought^  for  the  Hamiltons  would  have 
degraded  his  party  to  a  faction,  Knox  wisely,  if  un- 
willingly, refused  to  sanction  violence.  The  pulpit 
however  remained  to  him.  "  Where  your  Honour 
exhorteth  us  to  stoutness,"  Randolph  wrote  to  Cecil,  "  I 
assure  you  that  the  voice  of  one  man  is  able  in  an  hour 
to  put  more  life  in  us  than  six  hundred  trumpets  con- 
tinually blustering  in  our  ears."  Public  opinion  obliged 
even  Papists  like  Huntley  to  be  present  at  the  sermon. 
He  might  gloom  and  pull  his  bonnet  over  his  brows 
and  mutter  beneath  his  breath,  "  When  will  the  knaves 
have  railed  their  fill  ? "  he  was  constrained  to  sit  still 
and  hear  vengeance  denounced  against  his  blasphemy. 
Men's  sins  and  shortcomings  were  rebuked  under  the 
thinnest  disguise  of  Biblical  examples;  public  events, 
tidings  out  of  France  and  England,  gossip  of  the  Court, 
were  all  subjected  to  searching  criticism  and  fiery  de- 


122  JOHN  KNOX 

nunciations.  The  very  prayers  partook  of  the  nature 
of  manifestoes.  With  "  piercing "  earnestness,  Knox 
would  pray  for  continuance  of  the  friendship  with 
England ;  his  prayer  for  the  Queen  was  almost  an  in- 
citement to  sedition.  "  0  Lord,  if  Thy  pleasure  be, 
purge  the  heart  of  the  Queen's  Majesty  from  the  venom 
of  idolatry  and  deliver  her  from  the  bondage  and  thral- 
dom of  Satan,  wherein  she  has  been  brought  up  and  yet 
remains  .  .  .  that  this  poor  realm  may  also  escape  that 
plague  and  vengeance  which  inevitably  follows  idolatry." 

In  the  following  spring  (1562)  Knox  was  again  sum- 
moned to  Holyrood,  to  answer  for  a  sermon  in  which 
"he  inveighed  sore  against  the  Queen's  dancing  and 
little  exercise  of  herself  in  godliness  and  virtue." 

During  the  preceding  week  Knox  had  received  news 
out  of  France  (where  the  religious  wars  had  again 
broken  out)  of  an  encounter  between  the  Protestants 
and  the  followers  of  the  Duke  of  Guise,  in  which  the 
latter  had  massacred  women,  children,  and  unarmed  men. 
The  night  the  news  reached  Edinburgh  Mary  gave  a 
ball  in  Holyrood  and  dancing  was  prolonged  unusually 
late.  It  may  have  been  accidental,  but  Knox  was  con- 
vinced that  it  was  meant  to  celebrate  a  triumph  over 
the  godly.  Next  Sunday  he  was  vehement  against 
"  the  ignorance,  the  vanity,  and  the  despite  of  princes." 
Mary  was  not  alone  at  this  interview  as  at  the  last. 
She  received  Knox  in  her  bedroom  in  company  with 
her  ladies.  Lord  James,  Morton,  and  Lethington.  In 
answer  to  the  accusation  that  he  had  tried  to  excite 
hatred  and  contempt  of  the  Queen  in  her  people,  he 
replied  by  giving  the  substance  of  his  sermon.  Without 
softening  word  or  phrase,  he  assured  the  Queen  that 
they  who  dance  immoderately  or  as  a  sign  of  triumph 


KNOX'S  FIRST  INTERVIEW  WITH   MARY      123 

over  the  godly  will  assuredly  "  receive  the  rewaid  of 
dancers,  and  that  will  be  drink  in  Hell ;  unless  they 
speedily  repent,"  It  was  Mary's  policy  to  conciliate 
Knox.  "  Your  words '  are  sharp  enough  as  ye  have 
spoken  them,"  she  said,  and  added,  with  what  seemed 
a  noble  candour,  "  My  uncles  and  ye  are  not  of  one 
religion,  therefore  I  cannot  blame  you  if  you  have  no 
good  opinion  of  them.  But  if  you  hear  anything  of 
myself  that  mislikes  you,  come  to  myself  and  tell  me 
and  I  shall  hear  you."  It  was  a  generous  condescension 
calculated  to  disarm  the  suspicions  of  the  preacher.  It 
offered  him  a  position  of  influence,  it  flattered  his  zeal 
with  the  hope  of  making  a  convert  of  the  Queen.  Knox 
was  proud,  arrogant,  eager  for  power,  but  he  was  too 
clear-sighted  to  be  easily  flattered.  The  condescension 
of  princes  had  no  power  to  move  one  who  held  his  com- 
mission directly  from  Almighty  God.  "  I  am  called, 
Madame,  to  a  public  function  within  the  Church  ...  I 
am  not  appointed  to  come  to  every  man  in  particular 
and  show  him  his  offence."  The  office  Mary  had 
offered  him  savoured  too  much  of  the  private  director. 
He  was  too  constantly  occupied  with  his  books,  he 
added,  with  a  shadow  of  grave  mockery,  to  have  leisure 
to  hang  about  the  Court,  and  to  "  whisper  his  mind  into 
her  Grace's  ear,  or  bear  the  tales  of  what  men  said  of 
her."  Amazed,  hurt,  and  angry  at  such  a  reception  of 
her  studied  gentleness,  Mary  turned  her  back  and  the 
interview  was  ended.  Knox  left  her  presence  with  a 
"  reasonable  merry  countenance."  To  those  who  won- 
dered at  his  boldness  he  answered,  "  Why  should  the 
pleasing  face  of  a  gentlewoman  affray  me  ?  I  have 
looked  in  the  faces  of  many  angry  men,  and  yet  have 
not  been  afraid  beyond  measure." 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

LIFE  IN   THE  NETHERBOW. 

Writing  to  Cecil  after  liis  first  interview  with  Mary, 
Knox  had  said,  "  Since  then  hath  the  Court  been  dead 
to  me  and  I  to  it."  To  Knox  "  being  dead  "  to  anything 
meant  simply  inability  to  control  it  after  his  own  Avill. 
To  possess  his  soul  in  patience,  to  retire  into  the 
seclusion  of  prayer  and  study,  was  to  him  sheer  impossi- 
bility. 

Those  whom  we  recognize  as  saints  differ  from  other 
zealous  and  righteous  men  in  virtue  of  a  certain 
spiritual  aloofness.  They  may  associate  with  the  vilest, 
loving  them  with  a  pure  passion  unknown  to  other 
men ;  they  may  wear  out  heart  and  brain  contending 
with  triumphant  worldliness,  but  they  keep  their  souls 
anchored  in  the  Eternal  Calm,  and  thus  escape  the 
deadliest  danger  of  the  conflict,  the  temptation  to  use 
in  God's  quarrel  weapons  forged  by  craft  or  violence. 
Knox  was  no  saint — he  was  a  passionately  earnest  man 
possessed  by  definite  spiritual  convictions  and  holding 
a  lofty  and  rigid  ideal  of  conduct.  To  move  hot  hearts 
and  stubborn  wills,  to  strike  hard  blows  in  the  cause  of 
religion  had  not  been  difficult ;  to  make  the  Scotsmen 
of  the  sixteenth  century  a  whit  less  violent,  less  greedy. 


LIFE  m  THE   NETHERBOW  125 

less  self-indulgent  was  a  task  in  which  he  only  did  not 
entirely  fail.  He  was  not  content  simply  to  try  and 
reach  men's  consciences  by  the  spoken  word  ;  even  the 
discipline  of  the  Church,  minute  and  searching  as  that 
was,  did  not  satisfy  his  passion  for  mending  what  was 
amiss.  Imperiously,  without  misgiving,  he  intermeddled 
in  men's  lives ;  seldom  unwisely,  never  except  in  what 
he  held  to  be  the  interests  of  truth  and  righteousness. 
But  a  spiritual  guide  interfering  actively  in  the  affairs 
of  men  must  needs  at  times  compromise  his  sacred 
character.  Knox  did  not  come  unscathed  out  of  the 
ordeal.  Once  and  again  he  committed  himself  to 
extreme  positions  from  which  he  refused  to  retreat ;  he 
mistook  his  own  prejudices  and  irritation  for  zeal 
against  evil-doers;  to  attain  righteous  ends  he  allied 
himself  with  men  whose  characters  and  methods  were 
strangely  at  variance  with  his  religion.  He  poured 
forth  unmeasured  denunciations,  and  yet  resented  any 
criticism  of  the  preachers  as  blasphemy  against  God  in 
His  messengers;  worst  point  of  all,  his  whole  credit 
as  a  prophet  was  involved  in  proving  his  case  against 
those  he  had  denounced  as  "  reprobate,"  and  he  became 
credulous  of  scandals  and  greedy  for  evidence  of  their 
"  indurate  hearts  against  God." 

With  this  intense  interest  in  personal  matters  Knox 
was  living  in  the  heart  of  a  capital,  the  smallest,  the 
most  crowded,  the  most  turbulent  in  Europe.  One 
long  mile  of  street  running  along  a  narrow  slope 
comprised  the  town.  At  one  end,  on  the  height,  in  the 
most  commanding  position,  was  the  Castle  with  its  guns 
and  garrison ;  at  the  other  extreme  lay  Holyrood  in  its 
meadows ;  midway,  the  gate  of  the  Netherbow  cut  off 
the  Canongate   from  the   City  of  Edinburgh.     There, 


126  JOHN  KNOX 

probably  in  a  wynd  back  from  the  street,  was  the 
dwelling  which  the  Town  Council  of  Edinburgh  had 
taken  and  fitted  up  as  a  manse  for  Knox ;  a  few  hundred 
yards  higher  up  the  slope  was  the  Church  of  St.  Giles. 
Much  of  the  life  of  the  City  was  passed  in  the  streets ; 
the  traffickings  and  marketings  of  the  citizens,  the  brawls 
of  the  craftsmen,  the  fiercer  quarrels  among  the  armed 
retainers  of  noblemen,  constantly  brought  eager  eyes 
and  ears  to  the  many  windows  and  balconies  of  the 
tall,  dark  houses  on  either  side.  No  great  state  or 
ceremonial  separated  the  Court  from  the  City.  The 
townspeople  were  familiar  with  the  figure  of  Mary, 
as  she  passed  on  foot  to  dine  or  sup  with  the  richer 
burghers,  or,  in  transparent  disguise,  pursued  some  frolic 
with  Darnley,  in  the  first  days  of  courtship.  What 
was  done  at  Holyrood  over-night  was  the  talk  of  the 
causeway  next  morning,  and  probably  the  subject  of 
sermon  on  the  Sunday  following.  Great  nobles  would 
quarrel  at  Court,  and  in  the  dead  of  night  the  tramp 
of  armed  men  in  the  street  would  startle  agitated 
burghers  from  their  sleep.  A  centre  for  all  this  eager, 
contentious  life  was  the  little,  warm  study  lined  with 
"  deals  "  (deal  panelling),  which  the  kindly  Town  Coun- 
cillors had  provided  for  their  Minister's  comfort. 
Thither  many  and  various  men,  on  many  and  various 
errands,  resorted  daily.  Did  a  wife  desert  her  austerely 
Protestant  husband,  straightway  must  the  afflicted 
burgess  call-in  Knox  and  his  fellow-Superintendents  to 
write  a  circular  to  the  English  Bishops  demanding  their 
help  in  reclaiming  the  runaway.  Now  it  is  craftsmen 
who  have  had  a  diff'erence  with  the  magistrates,  who 
come  to  Knox  to  demand  his  intervention  ;  now  it 
is  the  Duke  and  the  English  ambassador  who  meet  in 


LIFE   IN   THE  NETHERBOW  127 

his  house  at  supper  to  discuss  affairs  of  State.  The 
strangest  of  all  among  the  varied  guests  was  the  Earl 
of  Both  well,  who  came  some  time  in  March  1562  to  beg 
Knox's  good  offices  in  reconciling  him  to  the  Earl  of 
Arran.  Knox  was  recognized  as  an  arbitrator  of  quarrels, 
and,  to  his  honour  be  it  recorded,  a  peacemaker.  His 
gravely  courteous  and  dignified  speech  to  Bothwell  is 
noteworthy  as  containing  his  one  allusion  to  his  birth 
and  parentage.  It  is  also  the  only  place  where  he 
recognizes  human  ties  other  than  that  "fellowship  in 
Christ,"  which  may  be  the  coldest  or  the  closest  of 
bonds.  "  For  albeit,"  he  began,  "  to  this  hour  it  hath 
not  chanced  me  to  speak  with  your  Lordship  face  to 
face,  yet  have  I  borne  a  good  mind  to  your  house,  and 
have  been  sorry  from  my  heart  of  the  troubles  I  have 
heard  you  to  be  involved  in.  For,  my  Lord,  my  grand- 
father, goodsire,  and  father  have  served  your  Lordship's 
predecessors,   and    this    is    a   part   of  the   obligations 

of  our  Scottish  kindness  ;  but  that  is  not  the  chief " 

And  with  the  last  words  Knox  resumes  the  minister, 
gravely  calls  on  the  Earl  to  repent,  and  offers  the 
required  service.  The  reconciliation  was  completed, 
but  the  end  was  disastrous,  and  caused  Knox  grief  and 
mortification.  The  following  Friday  after  the  sermon, 
Arran  appeared  in  Knox's  room  in  great  agitation, 
accusing  Bothwell  incoherently  of  trying  to  involve 
him  in  a  plot  to  murder  Lord  James  and  carry 
off  Mary.  Wild  as  the  project  was,  it  was  not 
incredible.  Arran  had  been  suspected  of  such  an 
attempt  a  month  or  two  before ;  Bothwell  was  later 
to  carry  out  something  very  like  it.  Knox,  with  quick, 
quiet  observation,  recognized  that  Arran  was  out  of  his 
mind ;   his  timely  warning  sent  to  Lord  James  may 


128  JOHN  KNOX 

have  saved  Mary  at  least  one  act  of  violence,  Arran, 
the  next  heir  to  the  crown,  the  suitor  of  two  Queens, 
passes  thus  tragically  from  the  stage. 

During  the  first  year  of  Mary's  reign  the  Avhole 
weight  of  government  rested  on  her  brother,  Lord 
James,  and  on  Secretary  Lethington ;  not  without 
grudging  and  jealous  criticism  of  many,  especially 
among  the  godly.  They  imagined  that  Lord  James 
was  "growing  cold"  and  "seeking  too  much  his  own 
advancement,"  and  that  Lethington  was  ambitious  and 
"  too  politic.'^  Knox  had  always  distrusted  Lethington  ; 
at  tliis  time  he  was  also  disappointed  with  Lord  James. 
He  could  not  understand  his  "  yielding  to  Mary's 
appetite,"  and  blamed  him  for  much  that  had  happened. 
But  if  Knox  loved  any  man  it  Avas  James  Stuart,  of 
whom  he  writes  affectionately  that  "  the  image  of  God 
did  evidently  appear  in  him,"  and  whom  he  praised  to 
Calvin  as  "  the  only  man  at  Court  who  opposed  himself 
to  uDgodliness."  In  February  1562  Lord  James  was 
married  to  the  Earl  Marischall's  daughter,  Agnes  Keith. 
There  had  been  "long  love"  between  them;  in  his 
affections,  as  in  his  ambitions,  Lord  James  was  patient 
and  tenacious  of  his  ends.  The  wedding  was  celebrated 
with  more  pomp  than  was  pleasing  to  the  godly,  but  the 
admonition  from  the  pulpit  was  direct  and  particular 
enough.  There  was  no  courtly  flattering  of  the  bride. 
The  thought  was  always  present  with  Knox  that  by 
woman  sin  had  entered  into  the  world,  by  woman  man 
was  still  constantly  led  astray.  "Unto  this  day  the 
Church  hath  received  comfort  by  you,"  the  preacher 
admonished  the  bridegroom,  "  ....  in  the  which,  if 
hereafter  you  shall  be  found  fainter,  it  will  be  said  that 
your  wife  hath  changed  your  nature." 


LIFE    IN   THE  NETHERBOW  129 

So   intent   was   Knox    on    this   multiplied    task  of 
keeping  all  men  right,  that  Randolph  might  well  say 
of  him  :  "  He  ruleth  the  roost,  and  of  him  all  men  stand 
in   fear."      It   had   been   part   of  Mary's   courtly  and 
diplomatic   training   to  read   the  weaknesses   of  men 
and  turn  them  to  account.    She  had  signally  failed  with 
Knox,  she  could  neither  overawe  nor  flatter  him.     She 
made  another  attempt  to  win  him  by  appealing  to  his 
love  of  influence.     Some  Westland  priests  had   been 
apprehended    for   celebrating    Mass    at    Easter   (April 
11,  1563),  and   were  to  be  tried   by  the  harsh  enact- 
ments   against    all    Popish    observances.       To    Mary's 
indignation,  she  found  her  Council  stiffly  determined 
on  carrying  out  the  laws;  even  her  brother  was  not 
compliant    on    religious   matters.      She    hit    therefore 
on  the  bold  plan  of  appealing  to  Knox  on  behalf   of 
her  unfortunate  co-religionists.     She  happened  to  be 
on  a  visit  at  the  Castle  of  Loch  Leven,  and  sent  for 
Knox  to  attend  her  there.     She  received  him  in  the 
castle   destined    to   become  so  mournfully  familiar  to 
her,  and  for  two  hours  "travailed  earnestly"  with  him, 
pleading  for  that  "  liberty  of  conscience"  which  Catholic 
and   Protestant   alike   claimed  when   they  were   in  a 
minority  and  condemned  when  they  were  triumphant. 
Knox   coldly  entrenched   himself  behind   the    Act   of 
Parliament.     If  her  Majesty  thought  to  elude  the  law, 
he  threatened   that  "some"  would   be  found   to  take 
the  matter  into   their  own   hands.     It  was  a   distinct 
threat  of  rebellion ;   in   his  impatience,  Knox  was  all 
too   ready  to   adopt   that   extreme    medicine    of    the 
State,     Thwarted  a  third   time  in  her  efforts  to  win 
the  unbending  preacher,  Mary  withdrew  to  supper  in 

manifest   displeasure.      But  next   morning   her  mood 


iSO  JOHN  KNOX 

had  changed.  Before  the  sun  was  up,  she  sent  him 
a  message  to  meet  her  west  of  Kinross.  She  was 
hawking  early  that  spring  morning,  for  she  was 
splendidly  active  and  hardy  in  her  habits.  She  had 
planned  this  informal  meeting  that  she  might,  on  a 
friendly  and  familiar  footing,  make  a  last  attempt  to 
conciliate  her  unimpressionable  opponent. 

No  word  was  spoken  of  last  night's  discussion.  She 
began  to  complain  of  Lord  Ruthven  and  insinuated 
blame  of  Lethington,  to  whom  she  knew  that  Knox 
was  hostile.  With  dignified  reticence  he  refused  to 
discuss  the  absent.  No  whit  disconcerted,  Mary  turned 
the  conversation  on  to  a  certain  Alexander  Gordon,  a 
former  bishop,  now  candidate  for  the  Superintendent- 
ship  of  Galloway.  He  was  a  time-server,  and  Mary's 
judgment  of  him  was  entirely  just  when  she  warned 
Knox  that  the  man  was  dangerous.  But  Knox  was 
irritably  jealous  of  advice  given  by  Mary  on  Church 
matters.  Where  free  election  was,  he  replied,  God 
Avould  not  suffer  His  Church  to  be  so  deceived  as  to 
elect  the  unworthy.  "  Well,  do  as  you  will,"  replied 
the  Queen,  with  unperturbed  good-humour.  She 
proceeded  to  introduce  other  subjects,  while  Knox  tried 
in  vain  to  take  his  leave.  At  last  she  said,  "I  have 
one  of  the  greatest  matters  that  have  touched  me 
since  I  came  to  this  realm,  and  I  must  have  your  help." 
It  was  a  frank  offer  of  comradeship  that  not  another 
man  in  Scotland  could  have  resisted.  This  matter  was 
the  unhappy  relations  of  her  half-sister,  the  Countess 
of  Argyle,  to  her  husband.  Knox's  interest  awoke  at 
once,  he  was  almost  off  his  guard.  Mary  was  encroaching 
on  his  particular  province,  the  office  of  arbiter  between 
man   and   wife.     He  was   specially  familiar   with   the 


LIFE   IN  THE   NETHERBOW  131 

relations  of  the  couple  under  discussion.  He  had  made 
peace  between  them  before,  and  Lady  Aigyle  had 
promised  to  complain  to  no  living  creature  till  she 
could  explain  the  controversy  to  him,  her  spiritual 
director.  He  had  heard  nothing;  therefore  he  could 
confidently  assure  her  Majesty  that  there  was  nothing 
but  concord. 

It  was  a  masterpiece  of  irony — surely  not  uncon- 
scious— when  the  Queen  begged  him  to  put  them  at 
unity  again  "for  ray  sake."  At  parting  she  lightly 
alluded  to  the  matter  they  had  discussed  the  night 
before,  saying :  "  I  shall  cause  summon  all  offenders, 
and  ye  shall  know  that  I  shall  minister  justice," 


CHAPTER  XV. 

KNOX   AND   HIS   CATHOLIC   OPPONENTS. 

Nothing  convinces  one  so  clearly  that  the  Catholic 
Church  in  Scotland  deserved  to  perish — was,  in  fact, 
self-doomed  to  perish — as  the  supineness  with  which 
she  acquiesced  in  her  own  destruction.  Stringent  as 
were  the  enactments  and  harsh  as  were  the  penalties 
against  the  celebration  of  Catholic  rites,  confiscation  of 
goods  for  the  first  offence,  exile  for  the  second,  death 
for  the  third,  there  is  absolutely  no  contemporary 
instance  of  the  last  having  been  inflicted.  It  is  the 
innovating  faith,  not  the  time-honoured  faith  on  its  trial 
that  generally  produces  martyrs.  Some  of  the  bishops, 
Ross,  Dunkeld,  Dunblane,  St.  Andrews  and  others,  were 
faithful  sons  of  the  Papacy,  but  their  devotion  stopped 
far  short  of  the  stake. 

While  these  dignitaries  enjoyed  what  they  had  been 
able  to  secure  of  their  benefices,  little  or  no  provision 
liad  been  made  for  the  lower  clergy.  Many  of  these, 
with  shameless  facility,  changed  their  religion  to  suit 
the  times — at  Easter  preaching  and  administering  the 
Sacraments  in  the  Catholic  fashion,  at  Whitsuntide 
subscribing  the  Confession  of  Faith,  saying  to  the  "  rude 
Reformers,"  "  My  masters,  your  doctrines  please  us." 
Those  priests  who  adhered  to  their  religion  were  turned 


KNOX  AND   HIS   CATHOLIC   OPPONENTS      133 

out  of  their  cures  and  practically  left  to  starve;  they 
and  a  remnant  of  faithful   laymen   met  for   religious 
observances  in  barns  and  fields  and  secret  places  very 
much  as  their  opponents  had  done  ten  years  before. 
Proclamations  commanding  evil-doers  to  leave  the  city 
bounds  bracketed  "  obstinate  Papists  and  massmongers, 
such  as  priests  and  friars,"  with  "  adulterers,  fornicators, 
and  noted  drunkards."     The  same  sweeping  regulations 
which  ousted  Catholic  clergy  from  their  cures  removed 
all  school-masters  and  other  teachers  of  youth  from  their 
charges.     In  Linlithgow  there  happened  to  be  a  school- 
master  in   priest's  orders,  Ninian  Wingate,  a  man  of 
"  sobriety  and  learned  simplicity  " — to  use  one  of  his 
own  happy  phrases — and  of  singular  zeal  in  his  office. 
At  Linlithgow  he  had   spent,  he  tells   us,  "ten  years 
of    my   most    flourishing    age,   not    without    manifest 
utility   of   their    commonwealth,"    when    the    newly- 
appointed  Protestant  Minister,  Dean  Patrick  Kinlochy, 
full  of    arrogant   zeal   and   supported    by    his   Super- 
intendent,  the   good  Spottiswood,  must  needs  submit 
the   school-master   to   the    religious   test.      A   fearless 
and  faithful  man,  hating  and  despising  the  renegades 
among    his    brethren,   Wingate   refused    to   alter    his 
faith  at  any  man's  bidding,  and  consequently  was  "  shot 
out  and  expelled  from  his  kindly  town  and  his  tender 
friends  there."     At  a  time  when   bishops   thought  it 
prudent  to  keep  unbroken  silence,  this  obscure  school- 
master stood  out  almost  alone  as  the  champion  of  the 
Church,  throwing  the  gauntlet   of  defiance   at   Knox 
himself.     His   first   Tractate,  written   in  beautiful  old 
Scots,  appeared  in  February  1562,  and  is  addressed  to 
Queen  Mary.     It  is  the  work  not  of  a  partisan,  but 
of  a  clear-sighted,  patriotic  thinker.     He  arraigns  the 


134  JOHN  KNOX 

Churchmen  with  a  force  and  irony  that  few  of  the 
Reformers  have  equalled,  denouncing  not  only  their 
corrupt  lives  but  "their  dumb  doctrine  in  exalting 
ceremonies  only  .  .  .  and  far  more  their  keeping  in 
silence  the  true  Word  of  God  necessary  to  all  men's 
salvation."  Yet,  after  all,  it  required  but  little  courage 
to  attack  the  Churchmen  when  their  iniquities  were 
in  the  mouth  of  every  hot-headed  Reformer,  Where 
Wingate  shows  his  independence  of  judgment  is  in  his 
attack  on  the  Nobility.  Their  avarice,  he  tells  them, 
was  the  cause  of  the  abuses  in  the  old  Church.  Nor 
are  those  amongst  them,  who  now  delight  to  be  called 
"  Gospellers  "  and  are  cunning  in  Scripture,  any  better  ; 
"  who,  though  they  call  out  on  idolatry  ,  .  .  are  bound 
subjects  to  the  monstrous  idolatry  of  avarice,  never  in- 
tending to  cleanse  their  hands  of  the  rents  of  the  Church, 
nor  of  the  blood  and  sweat  of  the  poor,  spurring  others 
to  Reformation,  but  never  reforming  themselves."  In 
these  days,  when  all  men  are  clamorous  to  root  out 
idols,  he  can  see  idols  set  up  in  "  kitchens,"  and  coffers, 
in  the  market-place  and  even  in  the  Temple  of  God. 
'  The  third  idol  and  worst  of  all  is  the  false  preacher 
.  .  showing  himself  as  he  were  God  ;  that  is,  exalted 
in  the  conscience  and  conceit  of  men  and  esteemed  to 
have  that  perfection  that  he  cannot  nor  may  not  lie." 

There  could  be  no  doubt  who  was  meant  by  that  last 
idol ;  but,  not  content  with  this  allusion,  Wingate,  in 
March  1562,  challenged  Knox  directly,  demanding  by 
what  authority  he  exercised  spiritual  dominion  in  the 
kingdom,  and  who  gave  him  that  authority.  If  he  be 
called  to  his  sacred  office  directly  by  God  Himself, 
where,  asks  Wingate,  are  the  miracles  to  attest  the 
calling  ?   if  by  man,  who  are  they  that   have  lawful 


KNOX  AND   HIS  CATHOLTf   OPPONENTS      135 

power  to  ordain  to  such  a  calling  ("  seeing  ye  renounce 
that  ordination  by  the  which  sometime  ye  were  called 
Sir  John")?  It  is  the  question  with  which  authority 
and  tradition  have  in  all  ages  met  the  boundless  self- 
confidence  of  innovating  faith.  Knox  never  answered 
the  challenge  directly.  Reasoning,  arguing,  meeting  an 
adversary  point  to  point  with  candour  and  logic,  if  not 
with  courtesy,  was  never  his  habit.  No  Avritten  answer 
was  vouchsafed  to  Wingate,  but  from  the  vantage 
ground  of  the  pulpit  Knox  vindicated  his  position,  and 
likened  his  "  call "  to  that  which  drew  Amos  from  his 
herds  and  sycamore-trees  and  drove  John  the  Baptist 
into  the  wilderness.  These  prophets  had  done  no 
miracles,  yet  no  one  doubted  that  they  had  been  inspired. 
Knox  constantly  claimed  the  position  accorded  to 
"  God's  earlier  servants,"  the  Hebrew  prophets,  and 
claimed  it  on  the  same  grounds  as  they — namely,  the 
intensity  of  moral  conviction  that  possessed  him  like 
a  distinct  message  from  God,  and  the  reality  of  which 
he  might  neither  doubt  himself  nor  allow  others  to 
question.  Prophets  have,  in  many  cases,  associated 
with  their  message  the  claim  to  miraculous  powers;  but 
the  difference  is  wide  between  those  who  base  their 
message  on  their  miracles  and  those  who  use  their 
miracles  to  illustrate  their  message.  Knox,  especially 
in  his  later  years,  undoubtedly  believed  in  his  own 
power  of  foretelling  events,  but  his  predictions  were 
almost  always  founded  on  experience  and  observation, 
and  were  part  of  his  general  message  of  God's  impend- 
ing judgments.  Among  a  people  always  prone  to 
superstition,  this  gift  of  prediction  gained  for  Knox  a 
peculiar  veneration  from  his  followers,  and  a  peculiai- 
fear  mingled  with  hate  from  his  enemies.     Nor  can  it 


136  JOHN  KNOX 

be  denied  that  this  self-announced  prophetic  character, 
attested  by  miracles,  was  in  the  later  history  of  the 
Scottish  Church  claimed  by  various  Ministers,  and 
that  the  claim  '^gave  them  (especially  in  the  days  of 
persecution)  a  spiritual  ascendancy  greater  than  the 
officially  supernatural  authority  of  the  Romish  Priest- 
hood. But  Knox  has  made  clear  his  own  convictions 
with  regard  to  miraculous  confirmations  of  the  Divine 
call  in  the  proposition  he  laid  down  in  answer  to 
Wingate's  question :  "  A  truth  by  itself,  without 
miracles,  hath  sufficient  strength  to  prove  the  lawful 
vocation  of  the  teachers  thereof,  but  miracles  destitute 
of  truth  have  efficacy  to  deceive  but  never  to  bring  to 
God."  As  for  the  orders  conferred  by  Pope  or  priest, 
Knox  treated  them  much  as  Cromwell  treated  the  time- 
honoured  constitutional  forms  of  the  English  Parliament. 
There  is  a  story,  resting  only  on  tradition  but  character- 
istic of  the  man,  that  once,  when  he  was  questioned  about 
his  orders,  he  answered  impatiently,  "  Buf,  buf,  man,  we 
are  once  entered ;  let  us  see  who  dare  put  us  out  again." 

All  through  the  spring  of  1562  Wingate  waited  for  a 
direct  answer  to  his  questions.  In  his  rough  arrogance 
Knox  seems  hardly  to  have  vouchsafed  to  read  the 
writings  "  fully  and  sincerely,"  or  to  have  stated  their 
contents  candidly.  So  entirely  had  he  failed  to  under- 
stand the  gentle  and  open-minded  character  of  his 
antagonist,  that  he  stigmatized  him  as  2^'''ogenies 
viparu7n,  to  the  scandal — Wingate  avers — even  of 
some  of  his  own  scholars. 

The  vigilance  of  the  Reformers  against  the  Papists 
was  not  without  cause  during  the  summer  of  1562. 
The  Holy  See  had  given  Mary  time  to  settle  down  and 
Qow  looked  for  some  fruit  of  her  rule.    It  was  impossible 


KNOX  AND   HIS  CATHOLIC   OPPONENTS       137 

for  any  one  at  a  distance  to  understand  her  helplessness 
to  effect  any  religious  change  in  her  kingdom.  In 
June  1562  the  Pope  sent  a  certain  Father  Goudanus 
as  his  Nuncio  to  Mary  and  to  such  of  the  bishops  as 
were  still  faithful.  Arrived  in  Scotland  this  priest 
found  his  situation  so  perilous  that  he  had  to  lie  hid  in 
the  house  of  some  devout  Catholics  for  at  least  a  month 
before  he  could  obtain  a  secret  audience  of  the  Queen. 
A  rumour  had  gone  abroad  of  his  arrival,  and  Knox 
thundered  in  the  pulpit  against  the  Antichrist  and  his 
emissaries.  By  a  curious  irony,  the  heat  of  his  elo- 
quence, detaining  his  congregation,  served  the  Nuncio's 
turn.  The  only  time  the  Queen  could  venture  to 
receive  him  was  during  the  time  of  service,  when  Lord 
James  and  the  other  noblemen  were  safely  at  church. 
One  Sunday  in  July  while  Knox  up  at  St.  Giles'  was 
declaiming  against  the  Popish  Antichrist,  down  at 
Holyrood  the  Nuncio  was  deliberating  with  the  Queen 
how  she  might  restore  her  country  to  obedience  to 
Rome.  He  may  have  brushed  against  Lord  James  in 
the  Canongate  as  he  stole  back  to  his  hiding-place. 
During  the  couple  of  months  Goudanus  passed  in 
Scotland,  he  saw  something  of  the  state  of  the  country. 
Churches,  monasteries,  and  altars  had  been  wrecked 
and  lay  in  ruins  ;  images  of  Christ  and  the  Saints  were 
prostrate  in  the  dust.^  "  The  Ministers,"  he  says,  "  are 
either  apostate  monks  or  laymen  of  low  rank,  and  are 
quite  unlearned,  being  cobblers,  shoemakers,  tanners,  or 
the   like."     It   might  have  been  retorted  to  the  good 

^  One  of  the  Ministers,  David  Fergusson  of  Dunfermline, 
speaks  even  more  strongly  of  the  "  foul  deformity  of  the  Kirks 
and  Temples,  which  are  more  like  sheepcotes  than  the  House  of 
God." 


13S  JOHN  KNOX 

Father  tliat  there  had  been  a  time  in  the  world's  history 
Avhen  the  sole  custodians  of  the  Word  of  Life  were  un- 
lettered fishermen.  But  in  the  matter  of  learning, 
though  Erskine  of  Dun,  the  Hebraists  John  Row  and 
John  Lawson,  Dean  Winram,  and  even  David  Fergusson 
— originally  a  tanner,  but  well  read  in  the  Fathers  and 
in  the  Scriptures — could  challenge  comparison  with 
the  contemporary  Catholic  Bishops  in  Scotland,  still 
the  accusation  of  ignorance  did  unfortunately  apply 
generally  to  the  first  set  of  Reformed  Ministers.  In 
the  succeeding  generation,  Andrew  Melville's  noble 
scheme  of  University  education  removed  this  slur 
from  the  Scottish  Church. 

While  the  Nuncio  was  aghast  at  the  absence  of  all 
public  Catholic  observances,  the  Ministers  were  in- 
dignant that  Catholic  rites  were  still  performed  in 
certain  remote  parts  of  the  country.  In  Ayrshire  under 
the  protection  of  his  kinsman,  the  Earl  of  Cassilis, 
Quintin  Kennedy,  Abbot  of  Crosraguel,  still  celebrated 
Mass  and  instructed  his  flock  in  the  doctrines  of  Holy 
Church.  A  man  of  learning  and  good  life,  he  was  the 
only  Churchman  of  position  who  tried  by  pen  and 
tongue  to  stem  the  tide  of  Reformation.  Candid  and 
liberal  in  his  own  way  he  had  written  frankly  denounc- 
ing the  abuses  in  the  Church,  but  beyond  this  he 
would  not  go.  He  could  not  swallow  his  formulas ;  a 
symbol  was  to  him  as  cogent  as  an  argument ;  the 
decrees  of  Councils  as  weighty  as  the  authority  of  the 
Scriptures.  With  this  excellent,  if  somewhat  hide- 
bound Churchman  Knox  held  the  famous"  Reasoning" 
at  Maybole  in  September  15G2.  The  opponents  offer 
a  singular  contrast.  The  Abbot  desired  a  leisurely, 
academic  conference  in  a  quiet  room,  ample  space  for 


KNOX  AND   HIS   CATHOLIC  OPPONENTS      139 

tlie  cartload  of  books  to  which  he  meant  to  refer,  and 
an  audience  of  twelve  persons  on  each  side.  Knox  had 
no  desire  to  play  at  logical  fencing,  or  even  to  meet 
reason  Avith  reason,  but  he  was  burning  to  deliver  him- 
self in  the  presence  of  a  multitude,  to  sound  the 
"  trumpet "  in  the  ears  of  the  "  converted  "  and  "  un- 
converted." 

This  difference  of  view,  and  also  some  difficulty  with 
regard  to  the  date,  led  to  a  curious  and  acrimonious 
correspondence. 

Knox  begins  by  disclaiming  any  intention  of  seeking 
dispute ;  he  had  come  to  the  district,  he  declares, 
"  simply  to  proclaim  to  the  people  Jesus  Christ  crucified 
to  be  the  only  Saviour."  "  That,"  retorts  the  Abbot, 
"  praise  be  to  God  was  no  newings  in  this  country  before 
you  were  born."  Knox  commits  himself  recklessly  to 
a  sweeping  retort,  "  I  greatly  doubt  if  ever  Jesus 
Christ  was  truly  preached  by  a  Papistical  prelate  or 
monk." 

A  little  later  the  Abbot  declares,  not  without  reason, 
"  For  if  victory  consists  in  clamour  and  crying  out,  I 
will  quit  you  the  cause  without  further  play." 

Knox  had  accused  the  Abbot  of  being  a  "  dumb  dog  " 
and  a  "  negligent  pastor  "  and  an  "  ignorant  idolater," 
and  the  Abbot  answers  angrily,  "  I  marvel  how  ye 
forget  yourself,  chiding  and  railing  in  this  manner." 

"  The  speaking  of  truth  is  chiding  unto  you!'  (The 
personal  note  is  getting  shrill  on  both  sides.) 

"  Considering  that  ye  said  a  little  before,  ye  did  abhor 
all  chidings  and  railing;  but  nature  passes  nurture 
with  you,"  retorts  the  Abbot. 

"  I  will  neither  interchange  nature  nor  nurture  with 
you  for  all  the  profits  of  Crosraguel,"  answers  Knox, 


140  JOHN  KNOX 

always  nettled  by  personal  criticism,  even  when  he 
himself  is  dealing  out  wholesale  denunciations. 

In  no  point  do  these  singularly  contrasted  opponents 
differ  more  than  in  the  humour  they  both  display  in 
their  writings.  That  of  the  Abbot  is  neat  as  becomes 
a  gentleman  and  scholar ;  it  plays  with  verbal  felicities 
and  inclines  even  to  puns.  But  the  humour  of  Knox 
is  harsh  and  derisive,  like  rough  laughter  with  animosity 
at  the  heart  of  it.  In  his  introduction  to  the  printed 
account  of  the  "  Reasoning "  at  Maybole,  he  makes 
merry  over  the  idolatry  of  the  Mass.  Taking  as  his 
model  the  splendid  satiric  passage  where  Isaiah  mocks 
the  false  gods  of  the  heathen  (Isaiah  xliv.  10 — 18),  he 
pours  contempt  upon  the  central  symbol  of  Catholic 
worship.  Haying  described  how  the  "  idol  "  is  sown  in 
the  earth,  nourished  by  rain,  dew  and  heat,  cut  down 
by  the  reaper,  borne  home  to  the  barn,  trodden  by 
hoof  of  ox,  winnowed  by  the  fan,  ground  by  the  mill- 
stone, and  moulded  by  the  baker,  he  goes  on  with 
indecent  mirth,  "  The  poor  god  of  bread  is  most  miserable 
of  all  other  idols  ...  for  within  one  year  the  god  will 
putrefy  and  then  he  must  be  burnt  .  .  .  yea,  what  is 
most  of  all  to  be  feared,  that  god  is  a  prey  to  rats  and 
mice,  for  they  will  desire  no  better  dinner  than  white, 
round  gods  enough."  Time  has  its  revenges.  In  that 
same  Ayrshire  two  centuries  later  the  dogmas  most 
sacred  to  Knox  were  parodied  with  an  irreverence  as 
reckless,  but  with  a  humour  far  richer  and  keener,  than 
his  own.  Holy  Willies  Prayer  has  paid  full  compensa- 
tion for  Knox's  scoffs  at  the  Mass. 

At  the  end  of  September  the  antagonists  met  in  a 
room  at  Maybole.  Had  the  Abbot  been  wise  and  alive 
to  the  great  issues  in  question,  he  would  have  taken 


KNOX   AND  HIS  CATHOLIC  OPPONENTS      141 

the  offensive  ;  for  Knox  had  laid  himself  open  to  attack 
when  he  committed  himself  to  his  favourite  syllogism : 
"  All  worshipping,  honouring,  or  service  invented  by  the 
brain  of  man  in  the  religion  of  God  without  His  own 
express  command  is  idolatry  :  the  Mass  is  invented  by 
the  brain  of  man  without  any  commandment  of  God  ; 
therefore  it  is  idolatry."  The  Abbot  was  prepared  to 
prove  that  this  syllogism  could  draw  no  support  from 
Scripture.  Unfortunately  he  quitted  this  firm  ground 
of  attack,  and,  with  the  infatuation  of  too  many  Church- 
men of  his  time,  leaned  all  the  weight  of  his  defence 
on  the  shifting  sands  of  symbols  and  traditions.  For 
three  days  the  "  Reasoning "  turned  upon  whether 
Melchisedek  had  brought  forth  bread  and  wine  as  an 
oblation  to  God  or  as  a  gift  to  Abraham.  Knox  seems 
to  have  thought  it  worth  while  to  win  a  victory  even 
on  this  ground.  The  "  Reasoning  "  broke  up  before 
the  real  issues  had  been  touched,  but  not  before  the 
Abbot  had  lost  both  his  head  and  his  temper.  The 
victory,  such  as  it  was,  remained  with  Knox. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

KNOX   AND   THE   COURT.      (1563—1564.) 

To  men  of  the  prophetic  or  reforming  type  like  Knox 
the  violence,  vice  or  greed  of  evil  men  are  hardly  so 
abominable  as  the  frivolity  and  callousness  of  luxurious 
Avomen.  To  Isaiah  as  to  Amos  the  sensuousness  and 
pride  of  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem  and  Samaria  were 
the  measure  of  their  countries'  corruption.  Knox  had 
more  toleration  for  the  lawless  insolence  of  a  gallant  like 
Bothwell  than  for  tlie  frivolities  and  extravagances  of 
the  Court  ladies.  He  lent  a  greedy  ear  to  whatever 
gossip  and  prejudice  reported  of  a  Court  which,  if  not 
corrupt  and  indecorous,  was  at  least  unguarded  in  the 
pursuit  of  pleasure.  He  sourly  describes  entertainments 
at  Holyrood  as  the  "  skipping  of  French  fillocks  and 
fiddlers,  not  very  comely  for  honest  women  "  ;  he  refers 
to  lewd  ballads  as  evidence  against  the  four  Maries.  In 
any  other  relation  the  character  and  career  of  Chastelar 
would  have  met  with  fiercest  denunciations,  but  by 
treating  him  as  the  victim  of  her  feminine  caprice,  Knox 
was  able  to  strike  a  blow  at  the  Queen's  reputation ; 
"  and  so  received  Chastelar  the  reward  of  his  dancing ; 
for  he  lacked  his  head  that  his  tongue  should  not  utter 
the  secrets  of  our  Queen."     Knox  had  a  juster  cause  of 


KNOX  AND  THE  COURT  143 

offence  in  the  extravagance  of  the  Court.  He,  who  had 
ever  in  his  ears  the  cry  of  the  over-taxed  labouier  in  the 
field,  and  ever  before  his  sight  the  silent  indignity  of 
Ministers  destitute  for  lack  of  stipend,  saw  a  luxury  in 
banquets  and  pageants  unknown  before  in  the  country. 
When  dearth  and  severe  weather  set  in,  he  recognized 
in  these  God's  visible  "  declaration  that  He  was  offended 
at  the  iniquity  that  was  committed  even  within  this 
realm."  Unfortunately  trifles  excited  his  indignation  as 
fiercely  as  grave  iniquities ;  he  declared  solemnly  from 
the  pulpit  that  God's  wrath  could  not  fail  to  be  moved 
by  "  the  targatting  of  the  tails  of  the  Court  ladies  and 
the  rest  of  their  vanity."  He  was  to  pay  the  penalty  of 
all  who  are  habitually  violent  in  speech ;  men  were 
growing  weary  of  his  vehemence  and  heedless  of  his 
warnings.  Powerless  and  isolated,  he  had  to  stand  by 
and  see  the  men  who  had  "  desired  to  end  their  lives 
rather  than  change  their  faith,"  bartering  not  only  their 
own  salvation  but  the  salvation  of  the  whole  people  for 
tawdry  and  sensuous  pleasures  imported  from  France. 
Even  Lord  James  who,  Knox  admitted,  alone  opposed 
the  wickedness  of  the  Court,  had  been  won  to  Mary's 
interest  by  the  grant  of  the  earldom  of  Moray.  It  had 
been  bestowed  on  him  in  the  previous  autumn,  when 
Huntley,  the  great  chief  in  the  North,  had  been  crushed. 
Mary  herself  had  been  forced  to  take  an  active  part  in, 
the  overthrow  of  the  great  Catholic  nobleman  who  had 
offered  to  establish  the  Mass  in  three  counties  if  she 
desired  it.  It  was  still  her  policy  to  conciliate  her 
Protestant  subjects  and  lull  the  suspicions  of  Elizabeth's 
Protestant  ministers,  but  she  must  in  her  heart  have 
resented  the  brother  who  made  it  necessary  for  her 
to  take  extreme  measures   against   her  own  friends ; 


144  JOHN   KNOX 

outwardly  however  she  continued  to  honour  and  reward 
him.     In  May  15G3  Mary  opened  her  first  Parhament. 
As  she  rode  up  the  street  to  the  Tolbooth  the  populace 
cried  :  "  God  bless  her  sweet  face."     In  Parliament  itself 
men  were  astonished  at  the  eloquence  of  her  speech,  "  The 
voice  of  a  goddess  not  of  a  woman,"  they  said  one  to  the 
other.     Knox  could  not  deny  her  evident  popularity ;  it 
was  gall  and  wormwood  to  him,  but  he  had  more  serious 
cause  for  anxiety  and   indignation.      The    Crown   had 
never  ratified  the  enactments  of  1560  with  regard  to  the 
change  of  religion,  and  the  Reformers  claimed  that  this 
should  be  the  first  matter  attended  to  in  the  present 
Parliament.      Lord    James — or    Moray    as    he    must 
henceforth   be   called — was   deeply  committed   to   the 
Reformation.      In   his    own   person   he   was   sincerely 
attached  to  the  Protestant  faith  ;  on  him  was  centred  all 
the  hopes  of  the  godly.     To  their  indignation  he  dis- 
appointed their  trust,  and  Knox  did  not  hesitate   to 
ascribe  his   conduct  to  self-interest ;    the   earldom   of 
Moray  needed  ratification  as  well  as  the  religion  of  the 
country,  and  seemed  to  have  a  prior  claim  on  Moray's 
interests.     "  The  matter  fell  so  hot  between  the  Earl  of 
Moray  and  John  Knox  that   familiarly  together   they 
spake  not  for  more  than  a  year  and  half."     Whether  in 
the  right  or  in  the  wrong — and  in  this  case  he  was 
substantially  in  the  right — Knox  had  always  an  authori- 
tative   dignity    in   his    intercourse   with    other    men, 
especially  with  those  of  high  station.     It  was  he  who 
formally  broke  with  the  Earl.     "  Seeing  that  I  perceive 
myself  frustrate  of  my  expectation,  which  was,  that  ye 
should  ever  have  preferred  God  to  your  own  affection, 
and   the  advancement  of  His  truth  to  your  singular 
(private)  commodity,  I   commit  you  to  your  own  wit 


KNOX  AND  THE  COURT  145 

and  to  the  conducting  of  those  who  better  can  please 
you."  Moray  might  be  dazzled  by  his  great  position, 
Knox  saw  its  insecurity  and  unreality.  "  If  after  this 
ye  shall  decay  (as  I  fear  ye  shall),  call  to  mind  by  what 
means  God  exalted  you."  Whatever  view  one  may 
take  of  Knox's  prophetic  utterances,  it  cannot  be  denied 
that  events  had  a  habit  of  justifying  them. 

It  was  not  alone  that  Knox  had  keener  and  clearer 
insight  into  the  real  drift  of  affairs,  he  had  a  far  wider 
outlook  than  most  of  his  countrymen.  Through  his 
correspondents  at  the  English  Court,  in  France  and  at 
Geneva,  he  was  kept  informed  of  the  state  of  religious 
parties  all  over  Europe.  The  religious  wars  in  France 
had,  by  the  spring  of  1563,  left  the  Catholic  party 
stronger  and  more  consolidated ;  persecution  was  grow- 
ing hot  in  the  Low  Countries ;  the  Council  of  Trent  was 
preparing  measures  for  a  concerted  attack  on  the  Refor- 
mation. And  here  in  the  meantime  were  the  Protes- 
tant noblemen  of  Scotland  who  had  fought  for  their 
faith  on  the  sands  at  Leith,  eagerly  desirous  of  match- 
ing their  Queen  with  some  great  Catholic  potentate ! 
In  March  1563  Lethington  was  in  London  on  the 
never-ending  business  of  the  ratification  of  the  Treaty 
of  Leith  and  the  recognition  of  Mary  as  Elizabeth's 
successor.  All  agreement  seemed  as  far  off  as  ever,  and 
Mary  turned  to  other  allies.  Lethington  had  a  secret 
interview  with  the  Spanish  ambassador  in  London,  in 
which  a  marriage  was  discussed  between  his  sovereign 
and  Don  Carlos,  the  heir  to  the  Spanish  crown.  Leth- 
ington assured  De  Quadra  that  the  Scottish  nobles,  though 
Protestant,  would  welcome  such  an  alliance,  and  that 
Moray  in  especial  was  favourable  to  it. 

Through  some  of  his  numerous  correspondents,  pos- 

L 


146  JOHN  KNOX 

sibly  through  Cecil  himself,  rumours  of  these  trans- 
actions reached  Knox.  He  knew  that  national  pride 
and  ambition  were  making  the  Protestant  noblemen 
indifferent  to  religion,  he  must  also  have  felt  that  he 
had  himself  lost  credit  with  most  of  them.  These 
reasons  served  only  to  make  his  warnings  all  the  clearer 
and  more  emphatic. 

The  greater  part  of  the  Nobility  still  resorted  to  the 
sermon  at  St.  Giles'.  From  his  pulpit  Knox  could  see 
face  after  face — some  estranged  now  and  hostile — whom 
he  had  known  familiarly  when  they  had  fought  together 
for  the  faith.  Preaching  one  Sunday  during  the  session 
of  Parliament,  he  recalled  the  extremity  they  had  knoAvn 
together  and  the  mighty  deliverance  they  had  experi- 
enced in  common.  "  In  your  extreme  dangers  I  have 
been  with  you ;  St.  Johnstoun,  Cupar  Muir,  and  the 
Crags  of  Edinburgh  are  yet  recent  in  my  heart ;  yea, 
and  that  dark  and  dolorous  night  wherein  all  ye,  my 
Lords,  with  shame  and  fear  left  this  town,  is  yet  in  my 
mind."  Were  they,  he  asked,  to  betray  the  cause  for 
which  they  had  fought,  for  the  ambitious  pleasure  of  a 
woman?  To  Knox  the  way  out  of  all  political  and 
diplomatic  difficulties  was  clear  and  direct.  "  Ask  ye  of 
her  that  which  by  God's  Word  ye  may  justly  require ;  if 
she  will  not  agree  with  you  in  God,  ye  are  not  bound  to 
agree  with  her  in  the  Devil ! " 

But  it  was  not  Knox's  way  to  lay  down  general 
principles ;  his  meaning  must  be  unmistakable.  "  But 
this,  my  Lords,  will  I  say  (note  the  day,  and  bear 
witness  after),  whensoever  the  Nobility  of  Scotland, 
professing  the  Lord  Jesus,  consent  that  an  infidel — 
and  all  Papists  are  infidels — shall  be  head  to  your 
Sovereign,  ye  do  so  far  as  in  you  lieth  to  banish  Christ 


KNOX  AND   THE   COURT  147 

Jesus  from  this  realm."  It  is  not  surprising  that  "  this 
manner  of  speaking  was  judged  intolerable,"  Protestant 
and  Papist  being  alike  offended  by  it.  Nothing  was  so 
likely  to  thwart  the  plans  they  secretly  inclined  to  as 
this  premature  plain  speaking.  "  Even  his  own  familiars 
disdained  him,"  while  "  flatterers  posted  to  the  Court  to 
give  advertisement "  that  Knox  had  spoken  against  the 
Queen's  marriage.  Apparently  on  the  same  day  after 
dinner  he  was  summoned  to  Holyrood.  Of  the  few  still 
faithful  several,  including  Lord  Ochiltree,  accompanied 
him  to  the  Abbey,  but  only  Erskine  of  Dun  went  with 
him  into  the  presence  chamber. 

In  the  early  days  of  her  dignified  young  widowhood, 
Mary  had  prided  herself  on  her  reticence  and  self-control, 
glancing  contemptuously  at  Elizabeth's  frank  outbursts 
of  temper.  *'  I  like  not  to  have  so  many  witnesses  of 
my  passions  as  the  Queen  your  mistress  was  content  to 
have,"  she  had  said  to  Throgmorton.  Perhaps  two 
years  in  a  rougher,  more  passionate  society  had  loosened 
her  habit  of  self-repression ;  she  was  in  a  "  vehement 
fume  "  when  Knox  was  ushered  into  her  presence.  She 
broke  into  passionate  reproaches.  Never  had  Prince  been 
so  handled  ;  she  had  borne  patiently  his  rigour  against 
herself  and  her  uncles ;  she  had  offered  him  presence  and 
audience  when  he  desired  it ;  all  had  been  in  vain ;  noiu 
she  was  resolved  to  be  avenged.  "  And  with  these 
words,  scarcely  could  Marnock,  her  secret  chamber-boy, 
get  napkins  to  hold  her  eyes  dry  for  the  tears ;  and  the 
owling,  besides  womanly  weeping,  stayed  her  speech." 
Knox  answered  temperately,  taking  however  lofty 
ground.  He  admitted  her  courtesy,  but  his  vocation 
was  such  that  it  could  receive  no  honour  from  the  con- 
descension of  princes.     He  was  sent  to  speak  plainly 


148  JOHN  KNOX 

from  '*  the  preaching  place,"  and  to  "  flatter  no  flesh  on 
the  face  of  the  earth."  Her  nobles  were  forgetting  their 
duty  to  God  and  the  Commonwealth  from  "  being 
addicted  to  her  affection " ;  he  had  only  done  his  in 
admonishing  them.  "  The  Evangel,"  "  the  Common- 
wealth," were  meaningless  terms  to  Mary,  absorbed  in 
her  own  ambitions  and  disappointments, 

"  What  have  ye  to  do  with  my  marriage  ?     Or  what 
are  ye  within  this  realm  ?  " 

"  A  subject  born  within  the  same,  Madame,"  was  the 
memorable  answer,  containing  in  it  a  century  of  revo- 
lution. "  And,"  he  continued,  "  albeit  I  neither  be 
Earl,  Lord,  nor  Baron  within  it,  yet  has  God  made  me 
(how  abject  that  ever  I  be  in  your  eyes,)  a  profitable 
member  within  the  same.  Yea,  Madame,  to  me  it 
appertains  no  less  to  forewarn  of  such  things  as  may 
hurt  it  .  .  .  than  it  does  to  any  of  the  Nobility ;  for 
both  my  vocation  and  conscience  crave  plainness  of 
me."  What  he  had  said  in  the  pulpit  about  her 
marriage,  he  now  repeated  before  her  face.  Mary's 
passion  broke  forth  afresh  in  angry  sobs.  With  a 
masculine  horror  of  tears,  Erskine  of  Dun,  "a  man  of 
meek  and  gentle  spirit,"  hastily  and  impotently  tried 
the  comfort  of  kindly  compliments  on  her  beauty, 
while  Knox  stood  by  in  grim  silence.  But  even  in  his 
greatest,  most  authoritative  moments,  he  was  keenly 
sensitive  to  the  opinion  others  had  of  him.  It  irked 
him  now,  the  implied  reproach  of  churlishness. 
"  Madame,"  he  said,  "  in  God's  presence  I  speak ;  I 
never  delighted  in  the  weeping  of  any  of  God's  crea- 
tures ;  yea,  I  can  scarcely  well  abide  the  tears  of  my 
own  boys  whom  my  own  hand  corrects,  much  less  can  I 
rejoice  in  your  Majesty's  weeping.     But  ...  I  must 


KNOX  AND  THE    COURT  140 

sustain  your  Majestj^'s  tears  rather  than  I  dare  hurt  my 
conscience,  or  betray  my  Commonwealth  through  my 
silence."  Still  more  offended,  the  Queen  commanded 
"  the  said  John  "  to  pass  out  of  the  Cabinet  and  to 
remain  in  the  outer  room.  It  was  full  of  ladies  and 
courtiers.  Knox  stood  among  them  with  spare  form, 
worn  face,  and  keen  eyes  looking  out  from  under  heavy 
brows,  the  most  notable  figure  that  ever  stood  in  a 
Queen's  ante-room.  Staunch  and  silent,  Lord  Ochiltree 
took  up  his  stand  beside  him.  The  rest  of  the  company 
affected  not  to  see  him.  Beside  him  were  the  ladies 
of  the  Court,  low-voiced,  white-fingered,  "  in  gorgeous 
apparel."  Himself  for  ever  haunted  by  the  doom  pro- 
nounced against  mankind,  he  saw  those  bright  creatures 
careless  and  at  their  ease  in  the  midst  of  threaten- 
ing mysteries.  It  moved  him  to  an  outburst  of  irony, 
stern  indeed  but  not  unkindly.  In  this  "  merry  sort  " 
did  he  "  forge  " — to  use  his  own  graphic  expression — 
conversation  with  them.  "  Oh,  fair  ladies,  how  pleasant 
were  this  life  of  yours,  if  it  should  ever  abide  and  then 
in  the  end  that  we  might  pass  to  Heaven  with  all  this 
gay  gear.  But  fie  upon  that  knave  Death,  that  will 
come  whether  we  will  or  not !  And  when  he  has  laid 
on  his  arrest  .  .  .  the  silly  soul,  I  fear,  shall  be  so  feeble, 
that  it  can  neither  carry  with  it  gold,  garnishing, 
targatting  (bordering  with  tassels),  pearl,  nor  precious 
stones." 

In  the  end  of  June  Lethington  returned  to  Edinburgh 
and  by  his  indignant  denial  probably  confirmed  Knox's 
belief  in  the  reality  of  the  Spanish  project.  Four  months 
later,  through  the  secret  information  that  he  had  always 
at  command,  Knox  knew  certainly  that  it  was  again 
under  discussion,  and  that  nine  members  of  the  Council 


(/ 


j 


150  JOHN  KNOX 

out  of  the  twelve  were  prepared  to  accede  to  the  Queeu's 
wishes.  He  who  had  once  "ruled  the  roost"  had  now 
little  influence  with  the  Council,  but  he  did  what  he 
could  to  avert  the  danger  by  warning  Cecil  of  what  was 
being  carried  on  under  a  show  of  friendship  with 
England.  Moray  had  quarrelled  with  him,  but  he  had 
confidence  that  Moray  was  still  true  to  the  religion  he 
professed.  "If  the  man  most  inward  with  you  and 
dear  unto  me  for  those  graces  which  God  had  bestowed 
upon  him,  be  such  as  both  our  hearts  wish  him  to  be, 
then  will  the  few  number  that  yet  remain  uncorrupted 
strive  for  a  season  against  the  force  of  the  blinded 
multitude."  If  he  follow  the  contrary  fashion,  Knox 
foresees  nothing  but  destruction. 

After  all  they  came  to  nothing,  those  plots  and 
counter-plots.  Don  Carlos'  condition,  mental  and 
physical,  forbade  the  thought  of  marriage  at  that  time, 
nor  had  Philip  fully  made  up  his  mind  to  take  all  the 
consequences  of  an  alliance  with  the  Scottish  Queen. 

Hardly  a  twelvemonth  later  than  their  last  interview 
at  Holyrood,  Mary  was  in  her  turn  highly  incensed  at 
Knox's  projected  marriage.  In  March  1564,  Randolph 
writes  to  Cecil :  "  Mr.  Knox  hath  been  twice  proclaimed 
in  church  to  be  married  upon  Palm  Sunday  to  Margaret 
Stewart,  daughter  of  Lord  Ochiltree,  whereat  the  Queen 
stormeth  wonderfully,  for  that  she  is  of  the  blood  and 
name."  Some  months  before  he  had  deprecated  Cecil's 
incredulous  laughter  when  he  mentioned  rumours  of 
Knox's  engagement  to  this  "  Lord's  daughter,  a  very 
young  lass,  not  above  sixteen  years  old."  It  was  probably 
to  please  her  parents  that  this  poor  child  consented  to  the 
match.  The  marriage,  undignified  and  almost  grotesque 
in  itself,  was  twisted  into  endless  ugly  calumnies  by 


KNOX  AND  THE   COURT  151 

Knox's  enemies.  The  mildest  and  wisest  comment  on 
it  is  Randolph's  :  "  In  this  I  wish  that  he  had  done 
otherwise."  We  know  little  of  the  second  Mrs.  Knox, 
except  that  she  was  a  faithful  and  affectionate  wife. 
Knox's  few  allusions  to  her  are  possibly  a  shade  tenderer 
than  those  to  Marjorie  Bowes.  Two  years  after  his 
death  she  married  again — this  time,  perhaps,  to  please 
herself.  Her  second  husband  was  Andrew  Ker  of 
Faldonside,  notorious  as  one  of  Riccio's  murderers.  He 
was,  by  conviction,  an  earnest  Protestant,  and  a  ruffian 
by  habit  and  repute. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

KXOX   AND   MAITLAND   OF   LETHINGTON. 

In  the  early  days  after  her  return  to  Scotland,  no- 
thing could  have  been  more  studiously  moderate  than 
Mary's  action  with  regard  to  religion.  For  her  own 
part,  she  adhered  firmly  to  her  Mass ;  but,  when  a 
public  celebration  on  All  Hallows,  November  1561,  had 
excited  another  popular  tumult,  she  acquiesced  in  the 
arrangement  that  she  was  henceforth  to  have  her 
services  in  private. 

It  was  on  this  occasion  that  a  meeting  was  held 
between  Moray,  Lethington,  and  others  of  the  Nobility 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  preachers  on  the  other,  to 
discuss  whether  subjects  might  lawfully  suppress  the 
idolatry  of  their  rulers.  The  nobles,  having  by  their 
votes  secured  the  practical  result  that  the  Queen  might 
have  her  Mass,  agreed  to  send  the  general  question  to 
be  settled  by  the  infallible  oracle,  John  Calvin.  Knox 
offered  to  be  scribe,  but  Lethington  undertook  the  office 
himself,  affirming  that  "  there  stood  mickle  in  the 
information." 

Whatever  Mary's  ultimate  plans  might  be,  she  "  was 
not  so  atfectioned  to  her  Mass  that  she  would  leave  a 
kingdom  for  it,"     Randolph  wrote  to  Cecil  that  she  had 


KNOX  AND  MAITLAND   OF   LETHINGTON      153 

very  early  made  up  her  mind  that  three  poiuts  were  neces- 
sary, "  To  have  peace  with  England,  to  be  served  v/ith 
Protestants,  and  to  enrich  herself  with  the  Abbey  lands." 
It  must  always  be  remembered  of  course  that  Mary 
showed  Randolph  exactly  so  much  of  her  views  as 
would  read  agreeably  in  his  report  to  the  English 
Court ;  the  tenor  of  her  correspondence  with  her 
uncles  was  quite  different. 

The  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  met  for  the 
third  time  in  December  1561.  Then  became  evident 
the  difference  between  those  who  were  really  zealous  for 
religion — chiefly  the  ministers,  burghers,  and  lesser  lairds 
— and  those — chiefly  courtiers  and  great  nobles — who 
had  other  and  more  political  objects  in  view.  The  noble- 
men withdrew  themselves  from  their  brethren  and  met 
in  the  Abbey  of  Holyrood.  In  their  anxiety  to  avoid  fi'ic- 
tion  with  the  Queen,  they  began  to  call  in  question  the 
legality  of  such  conventions  or  assemblies.  As  usual, 
the  protagonists  on  either  side  were  Knox  and  Lething- 
iou.  They  were  well  matched;  if  Lethington  had  a 
quick  and  polished  mockery,  peculiarly  exasperating  to 
an  opponent  in  deadly  earnest,  Knox  had  a  shrewd 
satiric  humour  of  his  own.  Moreover  he  had  at  his 
command  spiritual  threatenings  that  Lethington  could 
not  afford  to  disregard.  Himself  an  enlightened  child 
of  the  Renaissance,  they  probably  affected  him  but 
little,  but  they  influenced  other  men,  and  public  opinion 
is  the  very  element  in  which  politicians  have  to  work. 
When  it  was  proposed,  in  the  Assembly  of  1561,  to 
ratify  the  Book  of  Discipline,  it  was  found  how  hollow 
had  been  the  subscriptions  of  the  year  before.  Lething- 
ton had  never  been  deceived.  How  many  of  the  sub- 
scribers, he  asked,  would  be  subject  to  it  ?     Would  the 


154  JOHN  KNOX 

Duke  ?  They  had  but  subscribed,  he  added,  "  m  fide 
parentum,  as  the  bairns  are  baptized."  So  Knox's 
noble  scheme  was  shelved,  and  the  Reformers  and  their 
friends  had  to  make  what  conditions  they  could  for  the 
support  of  their  Church.  The  provision  was  meagre 
enough.  Of  the  rents  of  the  benefices  two-thirds  were 
to  go  to  the  present  possessor  for  his  lifetime,  of  the 
remaining  third  half  was  appropriated  to  the  support  of 
the  Protestant  Ministers,  half  was  to  go  for  "  the  Queen's 
necessities."  Knox  spoke  out  plainly  in  the  indignation 
of  his  soul,  "  I  am  assured  that  the  Spirit  of  God  is  not 
the  author  of  this  order  ;  for,  first,  I  see  two  parts  freely 
given  to  the  Devil,  and  the  third  must  be  divided 
between  God  and  the  Devil."  If  the  Church  had  even 
received  her  portion  equitably  it  would  have  been 
slender,  but  Knox  only  foretold  the  fact  when  he  added, 
"  Ere  it  be  long  the  Devil  shall  have  three-parts  of  the 
third."  Court  patronage  was  the  great  gulf  that 
swallowed  up  the  funds.  When  benefices  fell  vacant, 
Mary  bestowed  them  on  laymen  without  making 
stipulations  for  the  support  of  Ministers,  George 
Buchanan,  for  instance,  sturdy  Reformer  and  Republican, 
enjoyed  later  the  temporalities  of  Crosraguel  unfettered 
by  any  obligations.  Another  form  of  Court  favour  was 
to  remit  the  payment  of  "  the  thirds  "  to  those  who  held 
benefices.  Year  after  year  "  the  thirds  "  of  St.  Andrews 
and  Pittenweem  were  remitted  to  Moray ;  the  same 
benevolence  was  also  shown  to  Argyle.  (It  is  fair  to 
add  that,  at  the  instance  of  a  later  Assembly,  these 
leaders  of  Protestantism  did  undertake  to  support  the 
Ministers  out  of  their  superfluity.) 

The  Catholic  prelates  had  the  mortification  of  seeing 
their  rivals  recognized  as  the  Church  of  the  country, 


KNOX  AND  MAITLAND  OF  LETHINGTON      155 

but  they  had  secured  a  main  point — life-interest  in  their 
benefices.  It  was  the  Ministers  of  the  Church  by  law 
established  who  were  bitterly  disappointed.  Unreason- 
able and  impracticable  as  was  their  determination  to 
force  their  unmitigated  Protestantism  on  their  Catholic 
Queen,  they  were  convinced  that  only  by  such  a  course 
could  they  secure  the  blessing  of  Heaven.  The  "  fear- 
ful idolatry  of  the  Mass,"  which  was  certain  to  bring 
down  God's  judgment  "  on  the  head  and  tail,  the  in- 
obedient  prince  and  sinful  people,"  could  not  be  stamped 
out  as  long  as  it  was  maintained  by  the  Queen  and 
sanctioned  by  her  Protestant  Council.  Against  these 
evils  preaching  and  elaborate  Church  Discipline  availed 
nothing.  What  was  there  left  for  them  to  do  ?  "  Com- 
plain ! "  answered  Lethington  impatiently.  "  Whom 
to  ? "  "  To  the  Queen's  Majesty."  "  If  the  sheep," 
answered  Knox,  "  shall  complain  to  the  wolf  that  the 
wolves  and  whelps  have  devoured  their  lambs,  the 
complainer  may  stand  in  danger ;  but  the  offender,  we 
fear,  shall  have  leave  to  hunt  after  his  prey."  "  Such 
comparisons,"  said  Lethington,  "  are  very  unsavoury." 
Year  after  year  in  the  petitions  addressed  by  the  General 
Assemblies  to  the  Queen's  Majesty  demanding  redress 
of  grievances,  the  note  of  menace  becomes  more  audible. 
"  If  they  be  frustrate "  (of  their  demands),  runs  the 
petition  of  June  29,  1562,  "  men  will  attempt  the  utter- 
most before,  with  their  own  eyes,  they  behold  the  house 
of  God  demolished." 

In  August  1563  "the  godly,"  losing  patience  and 
prudence,  attacked  the  Queen's  chapel  at  Holyrood  dur- 
ing the  celebration  of  Mass.  She  was  herself  absent, 
but  the  priest  and  her  French  dames,  terrified  by  the 
intrusion  of  the  angry  mob,  sent  post-haste  to  summon 


156  JOHN   KNOX 

the  magistrates.  According  to  Knox,  when  these  arrived 
on  the  scene  they  found  all  quiet,  and  "  peaceable  (!) 
men  looking  to  the  Papists  and  forbidding  them  to 
transgress  the  laws."  Readmits  indeed  that  "a  zealous 
brother,  Patrick  Cranstouu,"  had  burst  into  the  chapel 
and  insulted  the  priest.  "  No  further  was  done  nor  said," 
adds  Knox ;  but,  from  the  Criminal  Trials,  it  appears 
that  two  more  of  the  godly  were  accused  of  "  carry- 
ing pistols,  of  convoking  the  lieges  .  .  .  and  invading 
sundry  of  the  Queen's  domestic  servants."  As  Secretary 
Lethington  had  said,  "  Mickle  lies  in  the  information." 

The  Queen  was  not  unnaturally  indignant,  and  the 
two  zealous  brethren  were  summoned  to  "  underlie  the 
Law."  To  Knox  this  was  the  signal  for  concerted 
resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Protestants.  With  the 
consent  of  the  brethren  in  Edinburgh,  he  dispatched  a 
letter  to  the  godly  all  over  the  country,  summoning 
them  to  be  present  in  the  capital  to  support  their 
brethren  on  the  day  appointed  for  the  trial.  It  was  a 
distinct  recognition  of  the  Church  as  an  independent 
body  in  the  State,  issuing  her  own  orders,  and  prepared 
to  resist  the  laws  of  the  land  when  these  opposed  her 
interest. 

A  copy  of  Knox's  letter  fell  into  the  Queen's  hands  ; 
it  was  welcome  to  her  as  a  proof  that  must  convict 
her  chief  enemy  of  treason.  In  the  end  of  December 
Knox  was  summoned  to  appear  before  the  Queen  and  her 
Councillors.  The  Council  sat  late  and,  as  Knox  walked 
down  the  dark,  wintry  streets  from  the  Netherbow  to 
Holyrood,  a  crowd  of  his  friends  accompanied  him,  fear- 
ing for  his  safety.  They  filled  the  court  of  the  palace, 
and  even  crowded  up  the  stair. 

The    presence    chamber    was    full    of    the   Queen's 


KNOX  AND  MAITLAND   OF  LETHINGTON      157 

Councillors.  As  Knox  entered,  they  took  their  places 
according  to  rank.  They  were  all  his  familiars — the 
Duke,  Moray,  Ruthven,  Glencairn,  Argyle,  and  others — 
men  with  whom  he  had  taken  counsel,  whom  he  had 
rebuked  from  the  pulpit.  Immediately  after,  Mary 
entered  in  state  and  took  her  place  at  the  head  of 
the  long  table,  the  Master  of  Maxwell  and  Secretary 
Lethington  standing  on  either  side  of  her.  Though 
himself  standing  at  the  bar  of  judgment,  Knox  re- 
mained unmoved,  appraising  with  clear  eyes  the  beau- 
tiful woman  opposite  him.  "  Her  pomp  lacked  one 
principal  point,"  he  says,  "  to  wit,  womanly  gravity ; 
for  when  she  saw  John  Knox  standing  at  the  other 
end  of  the  table,  bareheaded,  she  first  smiled  and  after 
gave  a  gawf  laughter  (horse-laugh)."  "  Wot  ye  whereat 
I  laugh  ? "  she  said.  "  Yon  man  garred  (caused)  me 
greet  (weep)  and  grat  never  tear  himself.  I  will  see 
if  I  can  gar  him  greet." 

Though  some  of  the  members  of  Council  might  be 
offended  with  Knox,  they  were  not  prepared  to  see  him 
condemned.  Some  like  Glencairn,  Moray,  and  Argyle 
had  regard  and  veneration  for  him,  and  all  must  have 
felt  that  he  was  a  powerful  bulwark  against  a  possible 
Catholic  reaction  such  as  might  at  any  time  sweep  over 
Scotland,  as  it  had  swept  over  England  under  Mary 
Tudor.  There  was  consequently  no  desire  to  find  him 
guilty,  except  on  the  part  of  Mary  and  her  supporters, 

Lethington  conducted  the  examination  and  accused 
Knox  of  "convoking  the  lieges"  without  authority. 
Ruthven  broke  in,  urging  in  Knox's  defence,  "Daily 
he  makes  convocation  of  the  people  to  prayer  and 
sermon,  and,  whatever  your  Grace  and  others  may 
think,  we  think  it  no  treason."     This  legal  sophistry, 


158  JOHN  KNOX 

of  which  even  "  the  Antichrist  of  Rome  "  need  not  have 
been  ashamed,  was  tacitly  adopted  by  Knox.  Next  it 
was  urged  against  him  that  he  had  accused  the  Queen 
of  cruelty.  At  this  point  Mary  impatiently  interrupted 
her  Secretary,  and  heaped  reproaches  on  Knox.  He  had 
defied  her  authority;  he  had  made  her  weep.  Her 
vehemence  probably  confirmed  him  in  contempt  for 
what  he  had  described  as  the  "  foolish,  mad,  and  frantic  " 
character  of  women.  "  I  began,  Madame,"  said  he,  "  to 
reason  with  the  Secretary  whom  I  take  to  be  a  far 
better  dialectician  than  your  Grace." 

In  the  end  Knox  was  dismissed,  his  judges  refusing 
to  condemn  him  in  spite  first  of  the  persuasions  and 
then  of  the  angry  taunts  of  the  Queen, 

He  had  stood  his  trial  unmoved ;  what  pierced  him 
to  the  heart  was  the  criticism  of  his  own  party.  At 
the  next  Assembly,  when  diverse  questions  were  moved, 
to  all  men's  surprise  he  remained  silent.  At  last,  after 
several  had  questioned  the  reason  of  his  behaviour,  he 
burst  out  and  demanded  that  they  should  either  acquit 
or  condemn  him.  "Words,"  he  said,  "fearful  and 
dolorous  to  my  heart  .  .  .  were  plainly  spoken,  and 
that  by  some  Protestants,  *  What  can  the  Pope  do  more 
than  send  forth  his  letters  and  expect  them  to  be 
obeyed?'" 

The  last  and  most  notable  controversy  between  Knox 
and  Lethington  took  place  during  the  General  Assembly 
of  June  1564.  Lethington,  with  mischievous  enjoy- 
ment of  what  he  knew  to  be  their  real  feelings,  gravely 
called  on  the  Ministers  present  to  give  thanks  to 
Almighty  God  for  the  religious  freedom  they  enjoyed 
under  the  tolerant  rule  of  the  Queen.  Then,  but  still 
with  perfect  suavity,  he  proceeded  to  find  fault  with 


KNOX  AND  MAITLAND  OF  LETHINGTON      159 

the  doctrine  generally  preached  concerning  obedience 
to  princes,  and  more  especially  with  the  customary  form 
of  prayer  for  the  Queen.  Directing  his  speech  to  Knox, 
he  said,  with  an  audacious  irony  that  must  have  taxed 
his  gravity,  "But  especially  we  must  crave  of  you 
our  brother,  John  Knox,  to  moderate  yourself  .  .  . 
because  that  others  by  your  example  may  imitate  the 
like  liberty,  howheit  not  ivith  the  same  modesty  and 
foi^esight.  Ye  pray,"  he  continued,  "for  the  Queen's 
Majesty  with  a  condition,  '  Illuminate  her  heart  if  Thy 
good  pleasure  be '  ...  in  so  doing  ye  put  a  doubt  in 
the  people's  head  of  her  conversion." 

"  Not  I,  my  Lord,  but  her  own  obstinate  rebellion 
causes  more  than  me  to  doubt  of  her  conversion." 

"  Whereunto  rebels  she  against  God  ? " 

"In  all  the  actions  of  her  life,"  was  the  sweeping 
reply.  Two  special  iniquities  are  however  singled  out ; 
she  maintains  "  that  idol  the  Mass,"  and  refuses  to  hear 
the  preaching  of  the  Gospel.  "When,"  asked  Knox, 
"  shall  she  be  seen  to  give  her  presence  to  the  public 
preaching  ? " 

"I  think  never,"  answered  Lethington  with  con- 
viction, "  as  long  as  she  is  thus  entreated." 

The  question  at  issue  was  the  "  obedience,"  and — as 
Knox  would  have  added — "  disobedience  due  to  magis- 
trates." In  his  sermon  of  the  day  before  he  had  drawn 
a  sharp  distinction  between  the  person  of  the  ruler  and 
the  "  ordinance  of  God,"  which  is  "  the  conservation  of 
mankind,  the  punishment  of  vice,  and  the  maintaining 
of  virtue,"  and  above  ruler  and  ruled  alike.  In  demo- 
cratic days  men  recognize  this  "ordinance  of  God"  in 
the  accumulated  results  of  the  human  conscience  and 
experience    embodied    in    laws   and    institutions   and 


160  JOHN  KNOX 

supported  by  the  general  consent  of  society,  Knox 
apparently  believed  that  this  "  ordinance  of  God "  was 
committed  to  a  righteous  renmant  in  the  community, 
acting  in  conformity  to  the  oracles  laid  down  in  the 
Bible  and  according  to  precedents  drawn  from  the 
Jewish  Commonwealth.  It  is  noticeable  that  he  never 
indicates  anybody  in  the  nation  as  the  depositaries  of 
this  formidable  trust;  one  is  inclined  to  think  that 
what  he  had  in  his  mind  was  the  Church  expressing 
her  will  through  the  lips  of  certain  inspired  preachers. 
It  follows  plainly  that  such  a  body  could  not  long  be 
bound  to  implicit  obedience  to  rulers ;  here  Scripture 
precedents  were  clearly  on  the  side  of  righteous  subjects 
disobeying  and  even  controlling  evil  princes.  Lething- 
ton  makes  the  admission  that  active  obedience  may 
not  be  rendered  to  unlawful  commands,  but  takes  his 
stand  on  the  doctrine — destined  to  play  so  large  and 
so  mean  a  part  in  later  English  politics — of  passive 
resistance. 

Far  nobler  and  freer  is  Knox's  contention  :  "  Hereof, 
my  Lord,  it  is  plain  that  God  craves  not  only  that  a 
man  do  no  iniquity  in  his  own  person,  but  also  that  he 
oppose  himself  to  all  iniquity  so  far  forth  as  in  him 
lies." 

"Then  will  ye  make  subjects  to  control  their  princes 
and  rulers,"  answered  Lethington,  as  if  this  were  a 
rednctio  ad  absurdum. 

But  Knox  is  no  whit  aghast  at  the  conclusion,  "  And 
what  harm  should  the  Commonwealth  receive  if  that 
the  corrupt  affections  of  ignorant  rulers  were  moderated, 
and  so  bridled  by  the  wisdom  and  discretion  of  godly 
subjects,  that  they  should  do  wrong  nor  violence  to  no 
man  ? " 


KNOX  AND  MAITLAND  OF  LETHINGTON      161 

Letlnngton  now  approaches  the  practical  issue  of  the 
debate.  It  is  no  question  here  of  resisting  the  perse- 
cution of  princes.  The  contention  is,  May  and  ought 
the  Queen's  Mass  to  be  taken  from  her?  Knox 
answered  stiffly  that  not  only  ought  idolatry  to  be 
repressed,  but  the  idolater  ought  to  die  the  death. 
Such  a  conclusion  must  have  been  repugnant  to  the 
good  sense  and  enlightenment  of  Lethington,  but  he 
was  painfully  weighted  in  controversy  by  having,  out 
of  deference  to  public  opinion,  to  acknowledge  the 
unimpeachable  authority  of  any  and  every  text  of 
Scripture.  Unfortunately  he  forgot  the  precedent 
Knox  had  given  nine  years  previously  for  doubting 
the  inspiration  of  prophet  or  apostle  where  they  dis- 
agreed with  his  own  doctrine.^  Lethington  made  the 
admission  that  practically  lost  his  case,  "  I  knoAV  the 
idolater  is  commanded  to  die  the  death."  To  plead  the 
inviolability  of  princes  was,  after  this,  a  waste  of  labour, 
though  a  pompous  list  of  quotations  from  Luther, 
Calvin,  Bucer  and  Musculus  strengthened  his  case. 
Knox  was  familiar  with  the  opinions  of  these  "most 
famous  men  of  Europe  " ;  one  doubts  if,  in  his  heart, 
he  respected  them  much.  In  the  present  instance 
their  judgment  was  beside  the  mark,  they  were  laying 
down  rules  for  Christians  in  a  helpless  minority;  he 
had  in  his  mind,  "  a  people  assembled  together  in  one 
body  of  a  Commonwealth  unto  whom  God  has  given 
sufficient  force  not  only  to  resist  but  to  repress  .  .  . 
idolatry." 

Every  point  of  this  lengthy  controversy  had  been 
illustrated  by  quotations  from  Scripture,  and  Biblical 
analogies  are  heavy  armour  to  fight  in.     Lively  as  was 

1  See  p.  46. 

M 


162  JOHN  KNOX 

his  knowledge  of  Jewish  history,  the  Secretary  could 
hardly  meet  Knox  on  every  detail  of  the  stories  of 
Jezebel,  Jehu,  and  Uzziah.  At  the  end  these  many 
illustrations  had  only  obscured  counsel.  "  I  cannot 
tell,"  said  Lethington  wearily,  "  what  has  been  con- 
cluded." Knox  on  the  contrary  was  satisfied  that 
he  had  clearly  proved  "that  God's  people  have 
executed  God's  law  against  their  King,  having  no 
further  regard  to  him  than  if  he  had  been  the  most 
simple  subject  within  this  realm."  "Well,"  said 
Lethington,  "  I  fear  ye  shall  not  have  many  learned 
men  of  your  opinion."  "  The  truth,"  answered  Knox, 
"  does  not  cease  to  be  the  truth  because  men  misknow 
it."  Still  he  is  not,  he  thanks  God,  without  witnesses ; 
he  too  can  produce  his  list  of  authorities,  certain 
ministers  of  Magdeburgh  who  had  subscribed  the 
declaration :  "  That  to  resist  a  tyrant  is  not  to  resist 
God,  nor  yet  His  ordinance." 

Lethington,  like  most  of  the  world,  was  only  prepared 
to  admit  such  authorities  as  bore  the  hall-mark  of 
celebrity.  "Homines  obscuri''  he  said  contemptuously. 
"  Dei  tamen  servi"  answered  Knox,  democrat  and  con- 
temner of  authorities. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  TRIUMPH   OF   THE  UNGODLY. 

It  was  an  impossible  thing  in  the  sixteenth  century 
for  a  Catholic  prince  to  rule  peacefully  over  a  Pro- 
testant community,  or  even  over  a  community  where  a 
majority  was  Protestant.  Moray  and  Lethington  tried 
to  ignore  this  fact;  dazzled  by  hopes  of  the  English 
succession  and  of  some  great  foreign  alliance,  they  per- 
suaded themselves  that  Mary — perhaps  the  cleverest 
and  most  ambitious  woman  in  Europe — would  consent 
to  leave  the  administration  of  her  kingdom  in  their 
capable  hands.  Knox  was  under  no  such  delusion.  He 
believed  such  an  arrangement  to  be  impossible  and  did 
his  utmost  to  make  it  so. 

By  the  spring  of  1564,  Mary  must  have  been  heartily 
sick  of  the  dissimulation  she  had  been  compelled  to 
practise.  While  she  continued  to  endorse  the  acts 
against  her  co-religionists  in  Scotland,  she  was  actively 
corresponding  with  the  Pope,  assuring  him  of  her  devo- 
tion to  the  Church  and  determination  to  restore  her 
people  to  its  fold,  and  receiving  in  return  his  blessing 
and  promise  of  help  (February  and  June  1564).  The 
pretence  of  friendship  with  the  Queen  of  England  had 
grown  threadbare  with  the  friction  of  secretly  op- 
posing interests  and  ostensible  affection.     Elizabeth  in 


164  JOHN  KNOX 

1564  insulted  her  cousin  by  offering  her  as  a  husband 
her  own  discredited  lover,  Lord  Robert  Dudley ;  "  her 
groom,"  Mary  called  him  in  disdain.  This  facile  noble- 
man, already  in  correspondence  with  the  King  of  Spain 
and  the  French  Huguenots,  thought  it  worth  his  while 
to  try  and  conciliate  the  Scottish  Reformer.  Knox 
was  not  pervious  to  flattery;  his  reply  was  cautious 
and  non-committal;  he  contented  himself  with  point- 
ing Lord  Robert  to  the  steep  and  thorny  path  to 
Heaven  and  gave  no  encouragement  to  his  designs  on 
the  Scottish  throne. 

Deeply  disappointed  by  the  failure  of  the  Spanish 
schemes,  Mary,  in  the  summer  of  1564,  turned  her 
thoughts  towards  her  cousin  Lord  Darnley,  after  herself, 
the  next  heir  to  the  English  throne  and  the  hope  of 
the  English  Catholics.  All  that  summer  rumours  were 
rife  of  this  change  in  the  Queen's  policy.  Knox,  always 
on  the  alert  for  signs  of  danger,  wrote  to  Randolph  in 
May  1564  :  "  The  Mass  shall  up;  the  Bishop  of  Glasgow 
and  Abbot  of  Dunfermline  come  as  ambassadors  from 
the  General  Council  (of  Trent).  My  Lord  Bothwell 
shall  follow  with  power  to  put  in  execution  whatsoever 
is  demanded,  and  our  Sovereign  will  have  done ;  and 
then  shall  Knox  and  his  preaching  be  pulled  by 
the  ears." 

With  growing  confidence  Mary  pursued  her  inde- 
pendent policy;  in  September  1564  the  first  step 
towards  the  Darnley  alliance  was  made  by  the  recall  of 
his  father,  Lennox.  It  is  probable  that  one  of  Mary's 
motives  at  this  time  was  a  desperate  desire  to  escape 
from  her  brother's  tutelage.  Knox  said  that  she  hated 
him  "  for  the  image  of  God  that  was  apparent  in  him," 
but  Knox  is  hardly  an  impartial  judge.     She  probably 


THE  TRIUMPH   OF  THE   UNGODLY  165 

thought  that  she  had  other  and  sufficient  reasons  for 
distrusting  and  disliking  him.  He  was  recognized  by 
the  Catholics  as  their  chief  opponent;  he  had  always 
been  a  close  ally  of  the  English  Queen ;  he  stood  peril- 
ously near  the  throne  and  commanded  popular  confi- 
dence. After  the  breach  between  them  was  complete, 
Mary  referred  bitterly  in  a  proclamation  to  "  some  who 
bore  the  whole  sway  with  us,"  and  who  "would  be 
kings  themselves,  or  at  least  leaving  to  us  the  bare 
name  and  title,  would  take  to  themselves  the  credit 
and  whole  administration  of  the  kingdom." 

There  are  three  significant  items  of  news  in  the 
letters  Randolph  wrote  to  Cecil  under  the  dates 
February  19  and  March  4  (1565)  respectively.  "Darn- 
ley  comes  to  Court  and  is  well  received.  It  is  suspected 
that  his  presence  may  hinder  other  things  and  that  his 
religion  is  Popish."  The  next  is :  "  Murray  of  Tulli- 
bardine  comes  from  Bothwell  out  of  France  to  sue 
for  .  .  .  liberty  (?'.  c.  for  Bothwell)  to  return ; "  and  the 
third  is :  "  An  Italian  Piedmontese,  a  singer,  is  in  place 
of  Raulet,  her  secretary  for  the  French."  Each  of 
these  men,  Darnley,  Bothwell,  Riccio,  was  to  have  a 
sinister  influence  on  the  fate  of  the  woman  who,  in 
her  turn,  was  to  involve  each  of  them  in  death  or 
dishonour. 

Darnley  was  merely  a  petulant,  dissolute  lad,  insolent 
in  prosperity,  abject  in  adversity,  pushed  into  a  great 
position  by  the  ambition  of  a  clever  mother  and  the 
brief  infatuation  of  the  Queen.  A  far  abler  man  was 
Riccio.  He  had  made  himself  indispensable  to  the 
Queen  by  his  ability  and  devotion  to  her  interests. 
From  the  time  he  undertook  her  foreign  correspond- 
ence her  relations  to  Rome  certainly  grew  closer.     He 


166  JOHN   KNOX 

was  popularly  suspected  of  being  in  the  pay  of  the 
Pope.  In  Bothwell,  Mary  knew  that  she  had  a  violent 
and  unscrupulous  servant  who  would  hesitate  at  no 
crime  in  her  interests.  Surrounded  as  she  was  by  overt 
enemies  and  doubtful  friends,  she  felt  the  value  of  his 
ruffianly  fidelity.  "  Our  Queen  thinks  to  have  him  at 
all  times  ready  to  shake  out  of  her  pocket  against  us 
Protestants,"^  Knox  had  written  to  Randolph  a  year 
earlier  (April  1564). 

Through  the  spring  of  1565,  Mary,  Riccio  and 
Darnley  ruled  the  Court  in  their  own  way,  surrounding 
themselves  with  the  most  reckless  of  the  younger 
Nobility.  The  Protestant  nobles,  the  old  Lords  of  the 
Congregation,  withdrew  more  and  more  from  Court, 
and  in  March  Moray,  the  Duke  of  Chatelherault  and 
the  Earl  of  Argyle  drew  up  a  bond  for  their  mutual 
support  and  defence. 

It  is  an  irreparable  loss  that  just  at  this  point  where 
the  history  becomes  most  complicated  and  dramatic, 
Knox's  narrative  comes  to  an  end.  He  had  been  re- 
conciled to  Moray — probably  about  the  date  of  Lennox's 
return  (September  1564) — and  was  doubtless  in  the 
confidence  of  the  Protestant  Lords,  but  of  this  there  is 
no  record.  It  was  a  time  of  plots  and  counter-plots. 
Disquietude  and  suspicion  took  possession  of  the  people ; 
there  was  constant  friction  between  the  old  religion 
and  the  new.  The  Catholics  were  emboldened  to  hold 
their  services  more  openly;  even  in  the  Queen's  ab- 
sence (February  1565)  many  resorted  to  her  chapel  in 
Holyrood.  A  priest,  discovered  saying  Mass,  was  tied 
for  several  hours  to  the  Cross  of  Edinburgh  by  the 

^  The  letter  in  whicli  this  passage  occurs  is  anonymous  and  is 
variously  ascribed  to  Knox  or  Kirkcaldy  of  Grange. 


THE   TRIUMPH  OF  THE  UNGODLY  167 

authorities,  and  pelted  by  the  fierce  mob  with  rotten 
eggs  till  he  was  insensible.  Naturally  enough  Mary 
hotly  resented  this  outrage.  Still  she  was  not  prepared 
to  break  with  the  Protestants.  More  than  ever  in  need 
of  popular  support,  she  even  courted  their  approval. 
She  promised  vaguely  to  hear  certain  preachers.  Above 
all  others,  she  said,  she  would  gladly  hear  the  Super- 
intendent of  Angus,  "for  he  was  a  mild  and  sweet- 
natured  man,  with  true  honesty  and  uprightness,  John 
Erskine  of  Dun."  When,  however,  the  General  As- 
sembly made  its  usual  impracticable  and  aggressive 
demand  for  the  suppression  of  the  Mass  as  well  in  the 
Queen's  own  person  as  generally,  she  answered  roundly 
that  she  would  not  give  up  the  religion  in  which  she 
had  been  brought  up  nor  imperil  her  alliance  with  the 
Catholic  powers.  The  brethren  in  Edinburgh,  regard- 
ing this  as  a  challenge,  held  a  tumultuous  meeting  on 
St.  Leonard's  Crags,  chose  leaders,  and  behaved  like 
men  on  the  eve  of  a  revolt.  At  Stirling  the  Protestant 
Lords,  Moray,  the  Duke,  Argyle,  Kirkcaldy  of  Grange, 
Ochiltree,  Glencairn  were  already  under  arms  and 
believed  themselves  to  be  secure  of  support  from  the 
English  Queen. 

Elizabeth  was,  or  pretended  to  be,  highly  incensed 
by  Mary's  proposed  marriage  with  Darnley.  Her 
cousin's  displeasure  and  the  opposition  of  the  Pro- 
testant Lords  only  incited  Mary  to  precipitate  action ; 
on  Sunday,  July  28,  she  made  her  first  irreparable 
mistake  by  marrying  Darnley.  After  the  wedding 
there  was  a  short  interval  of  inaction  like  the  ominous 
hush  before  the  breaking  of  a  thunder-storm.  Sum- 
monses were  sent  to  all  the  Nobility  to  appear  in  arms 
within   fifteen   days  to  assist  the  Queen   against  the 


168  JOHN  KNOX 

Rebel  Lords.  At  the  same  time  futile  attempts  were 
made  to  conciliate  the  Protestants  in  Edinburgh.  On 
Sunday,  August  19,  Daruley  went  in  state  to  St.  Giles' 
to  hear  Knox  jjreach  from  the  text  "  Oh,  Lord  our  God, 
other  lords  than  Thou  have  ruled  over  us."  This  is 
the  only  sermon  of  Knox's  that  has  come  down  to  us, 
and  it  must  be  confessed  that  without  the  passion  of 
his  voice  and  manner,  the  notes  of  the  trumpet  sound 
tame  and  long  drawn  out.  On  that  Sunday  morning 
however  the  excitement  that  was  filling  all  men's 
hearts  supplied  sufficient  weight  to  the  words  of  the 
preacher.  Sitting  sullen  and  restless  under  the  in- 
ordinate length  of  the  sermon — Knox  himself  admits 
that  it  exceeded  the  appointed  time  by  more  than  an 
hour — Darnley  was  startled  into  attention  by  certain 
emphatic  passages.  "The  same  justice  remaineth  in 
God  to  punish  thee,  Scotland,"  rang  out  the  voice  from 
the  pulpit,  "and  thee,  Edinburgh  in  especial,  that 
before  punished  Judah  and  the  City  of  Jerusalem  .  .  . 
for  this  is  the  only  cause  why  God  taketh  away  *  the 
strong  man  and  the  man  of  war,  the  judge  and  the 
prophet,  the  prudent  and  the  aged,  the  captain  and  the 
honourable,  the  counsellor  and  the  cunning  artificer.'  " 
Dull  as  he  was,  even  the  King  could  supply  the  names 
that  occurred  to  the  minds  of  all  present — Moray,  Glen- 
cairn,  Grange,  Argyle,  Ochiltree.  Still  more  distinctly 
fell  the  next  sentence  on  his  awakened  sense  :  "  And  I 
will  appoint,  saith  the  Lord,  children  to  be  their  princes 
and  babes  shall  rule  over  them.  Children  arc  ex- 
tortioners of  My  people,  and  women  have  rule  over 
them." 

Darnley  returned  to  Holyrood  and,  like  the  petulant 
boy  he  was,  refused  to  eat  his  dinner  till  he  had  avenged 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE   UNGODLY  169 

his  outraged  vanity.  Late  that  evening  Knox  was 
brought  from  his  bed  to  appear  before  the  Council. 
He  was  suspended  from  preaching  during  such  time  as 
their  Majesties  should  remain  in  Edinburgh,  It  was 
a  nominal  penalty ;  a  week  later  the  King  and  Queen 
had  departed  towards  the  West  to  take  vengeance 
on  the  Rebel  Lords.  Mary  was  to  know  the  sensation 
of  riding  at  the  head  of  an  army  in  a  steel  cap  with 
pistols  in  her  saddle-bow.  Even  Knox  is  forced  into 
an  unwilling  tribute  of  admiration.  "  Albeit,  the  most 
part  waxed  weary,"  he  wrote,  "  yet  the  Queen's  courage 
increased  man-like  so  much,  that  she  was  ever  with  the 
foremost."  The  rapidity  and  decision  of  her  action 
ensured  success.  The  Protestant  Lords,  not  daring  to 
risk  a  battle,  eluded  Mary,  and  on  August  31,  1565, 
rode  by  the  West  Port  into  Edinburgh,  in  number 
merely  thirteen  hundred  men.  Knox,  sitting  in  his 
study  in  the  Netherbow,  heard  the  Castle  guns  opening 
fire  on  them  as  they  rode  up  the  West  Bow.  "The 
terrible  roaring  of  guns,"  he  writes,  "  and  the  noise  of 
armour  do  so  pierce  my  heart  that  my  soul  thirsteth 
to  depart."  The  people  of  Edinburgh,  so  valiant  against 
helpless  priests,  so  warlike  on  St.  Leonard's  Crags, 
refused  to  join  the  Lords  though  they  were  offered 
good  pay  "for  defending  the  glory  of  God."  With  no 
following  in  their  own  country,  the  Lords  were  basely 
repudiated  by  their  ally.  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  in  their 
poverty  and  humiliation  found  but  a  bare  and  inhospit- 
able admittance  into  England.  Mary's  triumph  over 
her  enemies  seemed  complete. 


u 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

THE   GENERAL    FAST.       (MARCH    1566.) 

Clouds  Avere  gathering  round  the  Reformed  Church 
when  the  General  Assembly  met  on  December  28, 
1565.  Though  Mary  still  affected  an  unaggressive 
policy  in  religious  matters,  Catholic  rites  were  openly 
celebrated  and  it  had  become  the  fashion  to  neglect 
the  sermon  and  attend  the  Royal  Chapel.  Among 
the  Queen's  immediate  following,  Bothwell  alone  sturdily 
refused  to  go  to  Mass. 

The  Protestant  Ministers  were  full  of  anxiety  about 
their  own  position.  The  Laird  of  Pitarrow,  who  had 
been  Controller  or  Treasurer  of  the  Church,  had  joined 
the  Rebel  Lords ;  since  his  departure  the  Ministers 
had  not  received  one  penny  of  their  stipends,  Mr. 
James  Melville,  in  his  graphic  and  intimate  Diary, 
gives  a  touching  picture  of  the  distress  prevalent  in  the 
homes  of  the  clergy.  Promising  lads  were  removed  from 
school  to  receive  intermittent  teaching  from  fathers 
burdened  with  too  much  work  and  too  many  cares. 
The  children  of  the  household  became  pathetically 
familiar  with  anxiety  for  daily  bread,  or,  with  precocious 
sympathy,  feared  lest  the  head  of  the  family  might  be 
driven  by  poverty  to  relinquish  his  charge,  and  so  lose 


THE  GENERAL   FAST  171 

his  part   in  the  Kingdom  of  God,     Ballads  of  godly 
exhortation  passed  from  hand  to  hand. 

"  Who  so  do  put  hand  to  the  plough, 
And  therefrom  backward  goes  ; 
The  Scripture  makes  it  plain  enough, 
My  Kingdom  is  not  for  those." 

There  are  two  letters  of  Knox  written  during  this 
Assembly;  one  to  the  Ministers  whom  poverty  was 
driving  to  give  up  their  cures,  one  to  the  congregations 
on  behalf  of  the  Ministry.  In  the  first  letter  the  reality 
of  the  trial  is  gravely  admitted.  "  We  who  admonish 
you  are  not  ignorant,  neither  yet  altogether  without 
experience  how  vehement  a  dart  poverty  is."  When 
he  had  himself  left  London  with  ten  groats  in  his 
pocket  and  the  long  road  to  Newcastle  before  him,  it 
had  troubled  him  "  but  little."  So  now,  he  exhorts  his 
brethren  "  to  be  ashamed  to  faint  suddenly,  even  in  the 
brunt  of  the  battle."  "It  is  but  poverty  that  as  yet 
doth  threaten  us,  which,  if  we  be  not  able  to  contemn, 
how  shall  we  abide  the  fury  and  terror  of  death  ? " 

The  letter  addressed  to  the  laity  has  a  different  but 
an  equally  direct  and  noble  message.  Men,  he  tells 
them,  are  now  called  on  to  testify  to  the  reality  of 
their  faith  by  making  a  sacrifice  of  their  substance. 
"  Let  us  therefore  begin  to  reverence  the  blessed 
Evangel  of  our  salvation.  Reverence  and  magnify  it 
we  cannot,  when  that  Ave  suff'er  the  true  preachers 
thereof  to  be  oppressed  with  poverty  before  our  eyes, 
and  yet  we  shut  up  the  bowels  of  mercy  from  them." 

Poverty  and  an  uncertain  future  were  not  the  only 
ills  that  troubled  the  Church  of  Scotland ;  disquieting 
rumours  came  from  abroad  of  a  secret  bond  that  was 


172  JOHN  KNOX 

being  formed  between  the  great  Catholic  powers  for 
the  destruction  of  the  Reformation.  Everywhere  it  was 
currently  reported  that  the  Council  of  Trent  had  decreed 
that  Bishops  and  Cardinals  should  be  taxed  for  this 
good  work.  The  Scottish  Protestants  feared,  and  not 
without  reason,  that  their  Church  would  be  among 
the  first  to  be  attacked.  Substantially  these  rumours 
corresponded  with  the  facts,  though  the  alliance  had 
not  been  completed  before  the  death  of  Pius  IV,  in 
December  1565.  His  successor,  Pius  V,  was  a  militant 
Catholic  whose  little  finger  was  thicker  than  his 
predecessor's  loins.  In  January  1566  he  sent  a  message 
to  urge  on  Mary  the  restoration  of  her  kingdom  to  the 
Catholic  fold.  Mary  was  at  last  preparing  to  commit 
herself  to  a  policy  of  aggression.  "  With  the  help  of 
God  and  your  Holiness,"  she  replied,  "  I  will  leap  over 
the  dyke." 

With  the  world  full  of  these  uneasy  rumours,  the 
General  Assembly  had  to  prepare  means  of  defence. 
The  "  arm  of  the  flesh  "  was  powerless,  politic  alliances 
had  failed  ignominously ;  in  this  sore  strait  nothing 
remained  to  the  faithful  but  to  return  unto  "the 
Eternal,  their  God,"  with  humility  and  repentance  and 
confession  of  sins.  A  general  fast  w^as  fixed  for  the 
beginning  of  March,  and  Knox  drew  up  not  only  the 
order  to  be  observed  in  the  same  but  also  an  instruc- 
tion to  the  faithful  how  they  might  fitly  prepare  for 
this  act  of  public  repentance.  To  his  eye  the  Divine 
judgment  was  plainly  manifested  in  the  apparent 
triumph  of  the  ungodly.  God,  he  was  convinced,  must 
deny  His  own  justice  before  He  could  leave  unpunished 
the  flagrant  sins  and  shortcomings  of  His  chosen  people. 
Avarice,  greed  and  injustice  had  been  shameful  blots 


THE  GENERAL  FAST  173 

on  the  Reformed  Church  of  Scotland  in  her  hour  of 
success ;  peasants  who  had  enjoyed  "  a  moderate  and 
reasonable  life "  under  their  Catholic  masters — it  is 
Knox's  own  admission — were  so  ground  down  by  the 
new  landowners  that  "  for  poverty  the  ancient  labourers 
are  compelled  to  leave  the  ground  in  the  hands  of 
the  lords."  These  are  specific  sins  that  must  be  re- 
pented of  and  renounced  on  the  day  of  national  humi- 
liation. The  sophistries  of  the  world — as  threadbare 
in  the  sixteenth  century  as  now — are  swept  aside : 
"  We  see  no  good  reason  why  it  should  be  thought 
impossible  that  men  .  .  .  should  begin  to  express  in 
their  lives  that  which  in  word  they  have  publicly  pro- 
fessed." It  may  not  serve  the  landowner  who  oj^presses 
the  poor  to  plead  :  "  I  may  do  with  my  own  as  best 
pleaseth  me ; "  nor  may  the  dishonest  merchant  or 
craftsman  excuse  himself,  saying :  "  The  world  is  evil, 
and  how  can  men  live  if  they  do  not  do  as  others  do  ?  " 
"  Let  us  be  assured,"  says  Knox,  "  that  these  be  the 
sins  that  have  provoked  God  ...  to  destroy  and 
utterly  overthrow  strong  realms  and  flourishing  Com- 
monwealths." He  lays  down  short  and  simple  rules 
for  amendment :  "  Let  every  man  speak  the  truth  with 
his  brother ;  let  none  oppress  or  defraud  another  in 
any  business ;  let  the  bowels  of  mercy  appear  among 
such  as  God  hath  called  to  His  mercy."  These  passages 
— bald  though  they  be  in  form  and  lacking  in  Knox's 
peculiar  eloquence — are  faithful  echoes  of  the  voice 
that,  centuries  before,  had  rung  through  Israel :  '•'  Is 
not  this  the  fast  that  I  have  chosen  ?  to  loose  the  bonds 
of  wickedness,  to  undo  the  bands  of  the  yoke,  and  to 
let  the  oppressed  go  free,  and  that  ye  break  every 
yoke  ? " 


174  JOHN  KNOX 

Whilst  the  Church  was  thus  taking  counsel  with 
herself,  other  and  very  different  meetings  and  conferences 
were  being  held  secretly  in  Edinburgh,  The  strange 
and  almost  incredible  fact  is  that  the  very  men  who 
were  engaged  in  preparing  the  order  of  the  Fast  were 
probably  not  ignorant  of  the  sinister  plot  that  was  being 
hatched  at  their  side. 

Mary's  prosperity  had  never  seemed  greater ;  her 
prospects  of  becoming  a  mother  had  increased  her 
popularity.  But  she  was  surrounded  by  men  absorbed 
in  personal  ambitions  and  grievances,  and  had  no  one 
sincerely  and  disinterestedly  her  friend.  Riccio  indeed 
was  her  devoted  and  confidential  servant ;  consequently 
hatred  of  him  united  men  moved  by  every  motive,  from 
the  mean  and  calumnious  jealousy  of  Darnley  to  the 
patriotism  and  religious  zealotry  of  Knox.  The  bulk 
of  the  Nobility  despised  the  accomplishments  of  the 
Italian,  and  fiercely  envied  his  position  ;  the  Protestants 
saw  in  him  an  emissary  of  the  Pope  and  the  chief 
obstacle  to  the  return  of  the  banished  Lords.  For 
many  weeks  conclaves  had  been  held  in  secret ;  messen- 
gers had  been  sent  to  Moray  and  his  friends  at  New- 
castle ;  Randolph  was  aware  of  the  plot ;  in  ambiguous 
phrase  Lethington  hinted  at  it  in  a  letter  to  Cecil ; 
Riccio  himself  was  warned  of  the  danger ;  Mary  alone 
seems  to  have  been  entirely  unconscious. 

She  had  fixed  on  Thursday,  March  7,  for  the  opening 
of  Parliament,  when  she  meant  to  introduce  a  Bill  of 
Attainder  and  Forfeiture  against  Moray  and  the  other 
rebels.  The  General  Fast  was  appointed  to  begin  on 
the  previous  Sunday,  March  3,  and  to  continue  till  the 
following  Saturday.  Every  day  of  that  week,  before 
noon   and   after,  the  faithful   crowded  into  St.  Giles'. 


THE  GENERAL  FAST  175 

Was  it  by  accident  that,  for  an  occasion  of  national 
confession  of  sins,  the  fiercest  stories  out  of  the  Old 
Testament  had  been  chosen  as  appropriate  lessons? 
The  rooting  out  of  idolatry  in  Israel,  Gideon  destroying 
the  altar  of  Baal,  Jael  treacherously  slaying  the  enemy 
of  her  country,  the  destruction  of  the  Benjamites; 
these  stories  must  have  stirred  dark,  uneasy  expectations 
among  the  impressionable  congregation. 

On  Thursday  the  Queen  passed  to  the  Tolbooth  "  in 
wondrous  gorgeous  apparel,"  but  it  was  noticed  that 
few  of  the  Lords  accompanied  her.  That  day  the  Bill 
of  Attainder  was  prepared  against  Moray  and  his 
friends.  Quite  near,  in  St.  Giles',  Knox  was  reading  to 
his  congregation  out  of  the  Book  of  Esther,  how 
destruction  was  planned  against  God's  people,  and  how 
the  services  of  faithful  Mordecai  were  forgotten.  In 
the  gathering  twilight  of  the  wintry  afternoon  the 
lesson  was  completed  of  vain-glory  suddenly  overthrown : 
"  Yea,  Esther  the  queen  did  let  no  man  come  in  with 
the  king  unto  the  banquet  that  she  had  prepared  but 
myself;  and  to-morrow  also  am  I  invited  by  her  together 
with  the  king  ; "  up  to  the  vengeful  climax  :  "  So  they 
hanged  Haman  on  the  gallows  that  he  had  prepared 
for  Mordecai."  Then  the  hoarse,  high  voice  of  the 
preacher  ceased,  and  the  book  was  shut. 

On  Saturday  afternoon,  March  9,  this  ominous  Fast 
came  to  an  end,  and  at  seven  that  evening  Riccio  sat 
down  to  supper  with  the  Queen  in  her  cabinet.  No 
familiarity  with  the  incidents  that  follow  can  lessen 
their  horror ;  the  appearance  of  Darnley's  mean,  hand- 
some face  at  the  supper  party;  his  perfidious  caress; 
the  sound  of  armed  men  behind  the  arras ;  the  appari- 
tion of  Ruthven  grey  and  gaunt  as  a  vengeful  spectre  ; 


176  JOHN  KNOX 

the  dark,  cruel  face  of  Morton  beliiud  ;  the  outcry  and 
sudden  darkness  as  the  torches  are  overturned ;  the 
poor  wretch  clinging  to  Mary's  skirts ;  his  dying  shrieks 
echoing  from  the  outer  entry.  Hardly  was  the  deed 
completed  when  from  the  court  below  the  window 
came  the  tramp  of  feet  and  murmurs  of  an  excited 
crowd  ;  the  Provost,  alarmed  at  the  tumult,  had  arrived 
with  the  Town  Guard  ;  Darnley's  voice  from  the 
open  window  assured  them  that  all  was  well,  and, 
leaving  a  guard,  they  returned  to  Edinburgh. 

Mary  was  not  the  woman  to  sit  down  tamely  under 
an  outrage.  With  deliberate  fascination  and  terrible 
coolness  of  dissimulation,  she  lured  Darnley  back  to  her 
side  till  the  mean-spirited  boy  was  fain  to  buy  her 
favour  by  betraying  his  fellow-conspirators.  Taking 
him  with  her,  she  stole  secretly  from  Holyrood  on  the 
night  of  Monday,  March  11,  and  fled  to  Dunbar.  The 
conspirators,  balked  of  their  triumph  and  anxious  about 
their  own  fate,  kept  together  in  Edinburgh,  but  held 
themselves  prepared  for  flight.  That  Knox  felt  his 
own  position  insecure  is  proved  by  a  remarkable  prayer 
written  on  Tuesday,  March  12,  in  which,  as  if  on  the 
eve  of  a  crisis,  he  settles  his  account  with  Almighty 
God.  It  begins  with  that  touch  of  greatness  insepar- 
able from  everything  he  wrote :  "  John  Knox,  with 
deliberate  mind  to  his  God."  In  his  History  he  never 
disguises  nor  modifies  his  exultation  over  the  murder  of 
that  "  great  abuser  of  our  Commonwealth,  that  poltroon 
and  vile  knave  Davie,  who  was  justly  punished  the  9th 
of  March  " ;  but  in  his  pr  yer  there  is  no  triumphant 
thanksgiving,  rather  despont.cncy  and  heavy  anxiety  for 
the  future.  The  confession  of  sins  with  which  the 
prayer  begins,  sincere  though  it  be,  is  sucli  as  devout 


THE  GENERAL  FAST  177 

men  have  made  in  all  ages  ;  the  thanksgiving  for  special 
mercies  is  heartfelt  and  individual.  "  For  being  drowned 
in  ignorance  Thou  hast  given  me  knowledge  above  the 
common  sort  of  my  brethren.  .  .  Thou  hast  com- 
pelled me  to  fore-speak  as  well  deliverance  to  the 
afflicted,  as  destruction  to  certain  inobedient ;  the  per- 
formance whereof,  not  I  alone,  but  the  very  blind  world 
has  already  seen." 

By  March  18  Mary  had  collected  her  friends  and 
returned  to  Edinburgh  to  take  vengeance  on  all  who 
Avere  concerned  in  the  murder.  On  her  approach  they 
fled,  Morton  and  Ruthven  to  Berwick,  Lethington  to 
the  Highlands,  and  "John  Knox,  Minister  of  Edinburgh, 
likewise  departed  from  the  said  burgh  at  two  hours 
after  noon  with  a  great  mourning  of  the  godly  of 
religion." 

It  is  impossible  to  decide  how  far  Knox  was  party  to 
the  plot  to  remove  Riccio.  He  was  probably  privy  to 
it  to  the  same  degree  as  Bedford  and  Cecil  were  privy 
to  it.  His  name,  along  with  that  of  his  colleague 
John  Craig,  appears  on  the  list  copied  in  the  hand- 
writing of  Bedford's  clerk,  and  sent  to  the  English 
Government  enclosed  in  Randolph's  dispatch  from  Ber- 
wick, March  21 ;  it  is  absent  from  the  second  list  (in 
Randolph's  handwriting)  sent  from  Berwick  on  March 
27,  after  Morton's  arrival.  Morton  and  Ruthven  writing 
to  Cecil  on  the  same  date  declare  that  none  of  the 
Ministers  "were  art  or  part  of  that  deed  nor  were 
participate  thereof."  "  Art  or  part,"  in  Morton's  phrase- 
ology means,  however,  active  participation,  and  does  not 
include  knowledge  of  the  plot.^ 

^  Cf.  Earl  of  Morton's  trial  in  Bannatyne's  Memorials. 

N 


CHAPTER  XX. 

FALL   OF   MARY.      (1567.) 

For  the  next  fifteen  months  (from  March  1566 
to  June  1567)  Knox  was  a  fugitive,  first  in  Kyle 
and  later  in  the  North  of  England.  Cut  off  from 
preaching  and  from  public  life,  he  had — fortunately 
for  us — time  to  resume  the  writing  of  his  History,  laid 
aside  since  1560.  Books  I.  and  IV.  were  written  at 
this  time.  Perhaps  the  only  writings  with  which  this 
History  can  be  fitly  compared  are  the  historical  books 
of  the  Old  Testament.  Like  the  various  writers  of 
Samuel  and  Kings  Knox  sees  the  course  of  history 
against  a  clearly  defined  background  of  the  Divine 
purposes  and  judgments ;  like  them  he  breaks  the 
narrative  to  introduce  episodes  and  dialogues  out  of  pro- 
portion to  the  scheme  of  the  book  but  startling  in  their 
picturesque  reality.  The  style  is  terse  and  rapid,  and 
abounds  in  sentences  winged  and  pointed  like  arrows. 
Unlike  most  of  his  countrymen  who — with  the  exception 
of  Lethington — wrote  in  Scots,  Knox  writes  in  clear, 
excellent  English,  with  an  intermixture  of  Scotch 
words.  His  Catholic  opponent,  Ninian  Wingate,  makes 
it  a  reproach  to  him  "  that,  through  curiosity  of  nova- 
tions," he  had  "forgotten  that   old  plain  Scots  which 


FALL  OF  MARY  179 

his  niutlier  learned  him."  The  passionate  prejudices 
of  the  passing  hour  pervade  and  colour  every  page  of 
Books  I,  and  IV.  Mary  of  Guise  is  specially  hateful 
as  the  mother  of  "our  Jezebel  Mistress."  At  more 
than  one  point,  the  writer  breaks  away  from  his  story 
to  exult  over  the  punishment  of  "  that  vile  knave 
Davie."  In  one  emphatic  passage  he  clearly  incites  to 
rebellion,  bidding  men  turn  to  their  God  Who  will 
either  cut  off  that  Avicked  woman  in  her  sin  (the 
original  expression  is  coarser),  "  or  else  shall  put  it 
in  the  heart  of  a  multitude  to  take  the  same  vengeance 
upon  her  that  has  been  taken  of  Jezebel  and  Athaliah." 
Over  against  this  passage  on  the  margin  are  two  entries, 
one  merely  the  date  when  it  was  penned,  "April 
1566,"  the  other  the  exultant  prayer  "Perfice  quod 
coepisti,  mi  Deus,  propter  tui  nominis  gloriam,"  and 
the  significant  date,  "June  15,  1567,"  the  day  when 
Mary's  reign  ended  tragically  on  Carberry  Hill. 

To  Knox  the  shame  and  discomfiture  of  her  who  had 
been  so  radiant  and  gracious  in  her  prosperity  was  a 
triumphant  vindication  of  God's  just  judgments ;  to  us, 
who  try  and  spell  out  the  dark,  pitiful  story  by  the 
uncertain  light  of  contradictory  records,  it  seems  like 
the  last  awful  act  of  a  tragedy  where  Mary  is  at  once 
the  victim  and  the  author  of  her  fate.  It  is  only 
possible  here  to  indicate  certain  moments  in  the  drama. 
After  Riccio's  murder,  Mary  had  seen  the  necessity  of 
reconciliation  with  Moray ;  in  the  following  September 
(1566)  she  brought  herself  to  pardon  Lethington,  whose 
services,  indeed,  she  could  not  forego.  All  through 
that  summer  it  was  noticeable  to  every  one  that  none 
so  fully  possessed  her  favour  and  confidence  as  Bothwell; 
of  all  the  inner  circle  of  her  Court,  he  alone  had  never 


0 


180  JOHN  KNOX 

betrayed  her.  Meanwhile  her  husband  became  daily 
more  intolerable  to  her,  his  fatuous  and  dissolute 
behaviour  would,  in  fact,  have  alienated  a  less  high- 
spirited  woman.  While  Mary  carried  in  her  proud 
heart  an  unforgiving  remembrance  of  the  part  he 
had  played  in  Riccio's  murder,  his  betrayal  of  his 
allies  had  brought  on  him  the  malignant  hostility  of 
all  the  nobles  about  the  Court.  When  any  man's 
existence  became  obnoxious,  there  was  but  one  method 
of  dealing  with  him  in  the  Scotland  of  the  sixteenth 
century. 

In  the  end  of  November  1566  Mary  and  her  Court 
were  at  Ciaigmillar,  a  castle  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Edinburgh.  A  scheme  was  arranged  by  Moray,  Leth- 
ington,  Argyle,  Huntly,  and  Bothwell  for  inducing  the 
Queen  to  restore  Morton  and  others,  banished  for 
Riccio's  murder.  If  she  would  consent,  they  offered 
in  return  to  free  her  from  her  husband.  In  the 
previous  June  (1566)  Mary  had  given  birth  to  a  son. 
Prince  James,  and  she  now  demurred  at  any  arrange- 
ment that  might  cast  a  doubt  on  the  child's  legitimacy. 
That  a  way  might  be  found  of  disposing  of  the 
father  without  injuring  the  son,  was  hinted  by  Leth- 
ington,  not  obscurely.  He  added  :  "  And  albeit  my  Lord 
of  Moray,  here  present,  be  little  less  scrupulous  for  a 
Protestant  nor  your  Grace  is  for  a  Papist,  I  am  assured 
he  will  look  through  his  fingers  thereto,  and  will  behold 
our  doings,  saying  nothing  to  the  same."  This  notice- 
able sentence — reported  by  Huntly  and  Argyle  who 
were  both  present — would  seem  to  lay  the  same 
measure  of  guilty  foreknowledge  on  Mary  and  on 
Moray. 

It  is  possible — those  who  hold  the  Casket  Letters 


FALL  OF  MAFvY  181 

to  be  genuine  must  consider  it  certain — that  beneath 
this  plot,  lawless  and  cruel  indeed,  but  not  abnormally 
base  in  that  age  and  country,  was  another  hideous 
understanding  between  Mary  and  Bothwell.  There 
is  one  incident  that  might  be  brought  in  as  evidence 
that  Bothwell,  at  least,  was  indulging  ambitious  dreams. 
Curiously  enough,  this  incident  is  also  notable  as  calling 
forth  one  of  the  only  two  public  utterances  of  Knox 
during  the  year  in  which  he  was  a  fugitive.  On  the 
eve  of  starting  for  England  his  anxious  vigilance  for 
the  Church  was  roused  by  hearing  that  the  Archbishop 
of  St.  Andrews  had  "hy  means  of  the  Earl  of  Bothioell " 
procured  from  Mary  the  restoration  of  his  "  consistorial 
jurisdiction."  This  privilege  was  conferred  on  him 
alone  of  all  the  Catholic  prelates.  Among  other  powers, 
it  put  into  his  hands  the  decision  of  all  cases  of 
marriage  and  divorce  within  his  diocese ;  and  that 
diocese  included  the  Lothians  in  which  Hailes,  Both- 
well's  domicile,  was  situated.  But  what  roused  Knox's 
alarm  was  the  power  of  judging  cases  of  heresy  which 
this  "consistorial  jurisdiction"  would  restore  to  the 
arch-enemy  of  the  Eeformed  Church.  He  saw  in  it 
the  first  step  towards  the  re-establishment  of  the 
Roman  Antichrist.  To  submit  to  this  new  tyranny, 
what  is  it,  he  asks,  but  "  to  separate  ourselves  and  our 
posterity  from  God  ;  yea,  and  to  cut  ourselves  from  the 
freedom  of  this  realm?"  The  Archbishop  never  sat 
in  judgment  on  a  single  heretic.  The  sole  use  he  made 
of  his  restored  rights  was,  in  the  following  May,  to 
pronounce  sentence  of  divorce  between  James,  Earl  of 
Bothwell,  and  Jean  Gordon,  his  wife. 

In   the  end   of  December  1.566  Knox   departed   to 
England,  bearing  with  him  the  protest  of  the  Scottish 


1/ 


182  JOHN  KNOX 

Church  against  the  ritual  innovations  that  Elizabeth 
was  forcing  on  her  sorely  perplexed  prelates.  Their 
difficulties  would  hardly  be  lessened  by  the  earnest 
invective  of  the  neighbouring  Church  against  the 
"  Romish  rags." 

Of  the  ensuing  months  which  Knox  spent  in  Eng- 
land, no  record  remains.  If  the  monstrous  events 
which  followed  one  another  thick  and  fast  in  Scotland 
drew  passionate  comments  from  him,  unfortunately  no 
syllable  has  come  down  to  us. 

In  the  beginning  of  February  Darnley,  sick  in  body 
but  cheered  in  spirit  by  apparent  reconciliation  with  his 
wife,  took  up  his  abode  in  meanly-appointed  lodgings 
in  the  ruinous  Kirk-o'-Field.  On  the  8tli  of  the  same 
month  Moray,  always  determinedly  blameless,  obtained 
permission  to  visit  his  wife  at  St.  Andrews.  On  the 
evening  of  the  9th,  Mary  sat  in  friendly  converse  with 
her  sick  husband  till  ten,  when  she  suddenly  recollected 
her  promise  to  attend  a  masque  at  Holyrood  in  honour 
of  the  wedding  of  Bastiat,  her  French  servant,  and 
left  him  alone  in  the  house  with  a  couple  of  servants. 
Between  two  and  three  next  morning  the  citizens  of 
Edinburgh  were  startled  out  of  their  sleep  by  a  loud 
explosion. 

Wliile,  with  fatal  callousness,  Mary  left  all  investi- 
gations of  the  murder  to  Bothwell,  popular  instinct  at 
once  fixed  on  him  as  the  author  of  the  crime ;  placards 
posted  on  the  door  of  the  Tolbooth  even  bracketed  the 
Queen's  name  with  his  as  an  assenting  party.  Again 
the  Edinburgh  mob  played  its  ominous  part  as  chorus 
to  the  play.  Strange  voices  heard  at  midnight  in  the 
silent  streets  called  aloud  for  vengeance  on  Bothwell 
and  the  Queen. 


FALL  OF  MARY  183 

Abroad,  the  darkest  suspicion  fell  upon  Mary.  Her 
faithful  ambassador  at  the  French  Court,  the  Bishop 
of  Glasgow,  was  hardly  himself  convinced  of  her 
innocence,  and  could  get  little  credence  when  he 
asserted  it  to  others.  In  London  the  Spanish  am- 
bassador reported  that  many  even  among  the  Catholics 
believed  her  guilty. 

Guilty  or  innocent,  her  conduct  was  fatally  im- 
prudent. It  was  only  after  a  lapse  of  two  months,  and 
in  consequence  of  pressure  from  England,  that  she 
saved  appearances  by  letting  Bothwell  stand  an  assize. 

Argyle,  the  judge,  was  himself  one  of  the  conspirators, 
the  jury  were  venal;  Both  well's  friends  and  followers 
fidly  armed  filled  the  town ;  Mary  herself  looked  forth 
and  waved  him  God-speed  as  he  rode  under  her  window 
to  his  trial.  Old  Lennox  dared  not  appear  for  the 
prosecution,  and  the  shameless  farce  ended  in  triumph 
for  the  murderer.  On  April  24,  Bothwell  waylaid  and 
carried  Mary  off  to  the  castle  of  Dunbar.  Whether 
this  Avas  with  or  without  her  consent  will  always  be  a 
disputed  question.  By  May  3  they  were  back  at  Holy- 
rood  and  Mary  had  announced  her  intention  of  marrying 
her  captor.  So  far  his  schemes  had  succeeded  by  virtue 
of  their  very  audacity.  But  the  other  Lords  had  not 
conspired  to  murder  Darnley  merely  to  put  Bothwell 
in  his  place.  Moray,  very  characteristically,  had  left 
the  country  before  Bothwell's  assize  and  was  now  in 
France.  Lethington,  Morton,  Grange  and  the  others 
drew  together  to  Stirling,  vigilant  and  menacing.  One 
voice  only  was  fearlessly  raised  in  protest  against  these 
infamous  proceedings.  John  Craig,  Knox's  colleague, 
standing  in  the  presence  of  Bothwell  and  the  Secret 
Council,  "  laid  to  his  charge,  the  law  of  adultery,  the 


y 


184  JOHN  KNOX 

ordinance  of  the  Church,  the  law  of  ravishing,  the  sus- 
picion of  collusion  betwixt  him  and  his  wife,  the  sudden 
divorce,  .  .  .  and  last,  the  suspicion  of  the  King's  death, 
which  his  marriage  would  confirm."  Admirers  of  Knox 
may  almost  grudge  his  colleague  such  an  opportunity ! 

One  miserable,  feverish  month  of  married  life  was  all 
that  was  gained  by  so  much  rashness  and  crime.  On 
June  15,  on  Car  berry  Hill,  Mary  and  Bothwell  were 
parted  for  ever.  The  indignant  decision  of  a  whole 
nation  was  too  strong  to  be  resisted  even  by  wills  as 
passionate  as  theirs. 

True  to  the  Scotch  love  of  decent  legal  forms,  the 
nobles  in  taking  up  arms  against  the  pair  kept  up  the 
fiction  that  they  were  acting  solely  against  Bothwell 
and  in  defence  of  Mary.  But  on  Carberry  Hill,  as  soon 
as  the  Queen  was  in  their  hands,  they  gladly  connived 
at  the  escape  of  her  husband  ;  his  trial  and  confession 
would  have  complicated  the  situation  painfully  for  most 
of  them.  As  it  was,  they  found  themselves  in  a  wholly 
untried  and  sufficiently  difficult  position.  There  were 
various  powers  to  be  considered,  for  they  were  acting  in 
the  face  of  all  Europe.  The  French  Court  was  quiescent 
but  Elizabeth  would  not  for  a  moment  endure  the 
dangerous  precedent  of  subjects  calling  their  sovereign 
to  account.  By  the  beginning  of  July  she  had  sent  her 
ambassador  Throgmorton  to  Scotland  to  demand  that 
Mary  should  be  set  at  liberty.  At  home  the  Queen 
was  hardly  imprisoned  at  Lochleven,  before  the  Hamil- 
tons  were  forming  a  party,  ostensibly  on  her  behalf, 
though  they  were  equally  willing  to  consent  to  her 
death,  if  such  a  course  would  further  the  fortunes  of 
their  house.  But  there  was  a  power  more  formidable 
than  any  of  these  that  had  to  be  reckoned  with.     The 


FALL  OF  MAKY  185 

Scottish  people  had  become  articulate  and  were  fiercely 
demanding  justice.  When  Mary  passed  along  the 
ranks  after  she  had  yielded  to  the  Lords  at  Carberry 
Hill,  the  men-at-arms  cried  aloud,  "  Burn  the  murderess 
of  her  husband,"  till  Grange  silenced  them,  striking 
with  the  flat  of  his  sword.  When  she  entered  Edin- 
burgh, "  her  face  soiled  with  mud  and  tears,"  her 
clothes  bespattered,  her  whole  frame  shaken  with 
misery  and  impotent  rage,  the  crowd,  pressing  on  her, 
yelled  insults  and  curses.  Throgmorton  on  his  arrival 
was  astonished  at  the  strength  of  popular  feeling. 
"  The  Lords,"  he  said,  "  dared  not  show  as  much  lenity 
to  the  Queen  as  they  would  wish,  for  fear  of  the  angry 
people.  The  women  be  most  furious  and  impudent 
against  the  Queen,  but  yet  the  men  be  mad  enough." 

But  popular  sentiment  against  crime  changes  rapidly 
into  sentimental  interest  in  the  criminal  whom  justice 
has  overtaken.  "  Before  many  weeks  were  passed 
the  hatred  of  the  people  was  by  process  of  time  turned 
into  pity."  But  between  the  self-interested  policy 
of  the  nobles  and  the  fleeting  passion  of  the  crowd 
lay  the  compact  body  of  opinion  held  by  the  burghers 
and  country  gentlemen,  the  men  who  made  up  the 
strength  of  the  Protestant  Church.  On  July  20  the 
Assembly  met.  Throgmorton  had  wished  to  have  it 
prorogued,  Lethington  had  tried  to  persuade  the  more 
moderate  members  to  refrain  from  all  matters  touchins- 
the  Queen.  Both  recognized  Mary's  most  formidable 
enemies  in  these  men  of  clear  moral  convictions  and 
relentless  severity.  "It  is  the  public  speech  amongst 
all  the  people  and  amongst  all  the  estates,  saving  the 
Councillors,"  Throgmorton  reported  to  his  Government, 
"  that  their  Queen  hath  no  more  liberty  nor  privilege 


186  JOHN  KNOX 

to  commit  murder  nor  adultery  than  any  other  private 
person,  neither  by  God's  laws,  nor  by  the  laws  of  the 
realm."  It  is  not  difficult  to  guess  from  whom  this 
lesson  had  been  learned. 

It  was  the  policy  of  the  Confederate  Lords  to  profess 
zeal  for  religion  and  to  ally  themselves  with  the 
preachers.  A  few  days  after  Mary's  imprisonment, 
Lord  Glencairn  had  broken  down  the  altars  and  images 
at  Holyrood,  "  to  the  great  contentment "  of  the  zealous 
Protestants,  At  this  date  Knox  was  probably  back  at 
Edinburgh  to  applaud  the  pious  deed.  At  the  end  of 
June,  he,  Craig  and  others  of  their  colleagues  were  sent 
by  the  Confederate  Lords  to  the  West  Country  to  per- 
suade the  Hamiltons  to  enter  into  alliance  with  them. 
The  embassy  was  fruitless.  Knox  had  no  longer,  as  in 
\J  the  first  Civil  War,  power  to  control  statesmen  and 
dictate  a  policy,  but  he  had  created  a  formidable  public 
opinion  in  the  people  at  large,  and  this  he  continued  to 
direct  and  inflame  by  his  sermons.  He  demanded  open 
judgment  on  the  Queen  and  condign  punishment  if  she 
were  proved  guilty,  threatening  "the  great  plague  of 
God  to  this  Avhole  nation  if  she  Avere  spared."  As  the 
mouthpiece  of  the  newly-awakened  national  conscience* 
as  the  voice  of  the  Reformed  Church,  he  enunciated 
God's  eternal  decrees  against  murder  and  adultery,  and, 
in  the  face  of  Elizabeth  and  every  Court  in  Europe, 
insisted  that  Princes  and  Queens  are  subject  to  the  laws 
of  their  country.  At  the  same  time  it  cannot  be  denied 
that  Knox  was  influenced  by  personal  animosity  and 
religious  prejudice.  More  than  once  he  had  been  the 
apologist  for  murder ;  no  syllable  of  compunction  softens 
his  exultation  at  the  deaths  of  Beaton  and  Riccio.  The 
nature  of  Mary's  guilt,  if  guilty  she  were,  was,  it  is 


FALL   OF   MARY  187 

true,  peculiarly  abhorrent.  The  Reformed  Church  was 
specially  severe  on  sins  of  the  flesh,  as  the  records  of 
every  Assembly  bear  ample  witness.  But  Knox  has 
left  no  expression  of  amazement  at  the  special  nature 
of  the  crime,  far  less  of  any  austere  pity  for  the  criminal, 
rather  he  seems  to  exult  that  Mary's  depravity  (which 
he  had  recognized  from  the  beginning)  should  now  be 
patent  to  the  whole  world.  From  the  moment  of  her 
landing  he  had  wished  for  her  deposition.  A  woman  in 
authority,  an  idolatress  ruling  over  a  faithful  people, 
had  been  alike  obnoxious  to  his  political  and  his  religious 
convictions.  It  was  probably  the  fulfilment  of  wishes  / 
he  had  long  cherished  in  secret  when  Mary  was  com-  1/ 
pelled  to  abdicate,  and  her  brother,  the  Earl  of  Moray, 
was  appointed  Regent  for  the  infant  Prince. 

When  James  was  crowned  at  Stirling  on  July  29, 
Knox  preached  the  sermon,  taking  for  his  text  the 
coronation  of  the  young  king  Joash.  It  was  a  bitter 
mortification  to  him  that  he  could  not  persuade  the 
nobles  to  forego  the  Jewish  rite  of  anointing. 

On  August  22,  1567,  Moray  was  proclaimed  Regent,  / 

He  had  carefully  secured  every  step  to  the  supreme 
power;  he  had  waited  in  France  till  the  Confederate 
Nobles  were  convinced  that  they  could  not  do  without 
him ;  in  that  strange  midnight  conversation  with  Mary 
at  Lochleven,  he  had  so  worked  on  her  fears  as  to  induce 
her  to  urge  him  to  accept  the  Regency ;  but  his  main 
strength  lay  in  the  support  of  the  preachers  and  the 
men  they  influenced. 

No  one  has  denied  Moray's  capacities  as  a  ruler. 
Like  all  the  earlier  Stuarts — Mary  no  less  than  her 
father  and  grandfather — he  had  the  prompt  decision 
and  strong  hand  that  could  enforce  his  will.     Moreover, 


188  JOHN  KNOX 

he  had  learned  from  Knox  a  moral  and  religious,  albeit 
narrow  and  rigid,  ideal  of  his  country's  welfare.  "  He 
seeks  to  imitate  rather  some  that  have  led  the  people 
of  Israel  than  any  captain  of  our  age,"  wrote  Throg- 
morton,  in  the  very  early  days  of  his  Regency.  Under 
the  care  of  such  a  ruler  the  Reformed  Church  might 
fairly  hope  to  recover  the  position  she  had  held  for  a 
moment  before  Mary's  return  (1560-61).  It  is  significant 
of  the  increased  power  of  the  Church  that  at  the  next 
Assembly  (December  1567),  both  the  Earl  and  Countess 
of  Argyle  were  subjected  to  penance  in  the  congrega- 
tion; he  for  conjugal  infidelity,  she  for  her  presence  at 
the  Papistical  rites  of  the  young  King's  baptism.  In 
the  Parliament  of  the  same  date  the  Thirds  were 
appointed  for  the  sustentation  of  the  Church.  To  Knox 
it  seemed  at  last  as  if  his  work  were  done,  as  if  the 
Joshua  had  arisen  who  was  to  lead  into  the  Promised 
Land  the  people  he  had  himself  led  through  the  desert 
from  the  House  of  Bondage.  It  is  touching  to  find  his 
thoughts  going  back  to  the  old  days  of  peaceful  exile 
at  Geneva.  "God  comfort  that  dispersed  little  flock, 
amongst  whom  I  once  lived  with  quietness  of  conscience 
and  contentment  of  heart ;  and  amongst  whom  I  would 
be  content  to  end  my  days,  if  so  it  would  stand  with 
God's  good  pleasure  ...  I  can  give  no  reason  that  I 
should  so  desire,  other  than  that  my  heart  so  thirsteth." 
Knox  was  premature  in  believing  that  his  "  battle  "  was 
over ;  in  some  ways,  "  the  worst  and  the  last "  was  still 
to  come. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 
Moray's  regency.     (1567 — 1570.) 

On  May  2,  1568,  Mary  escaped  from  Lochleven, 
and  set  the  whole  world  aflame  again.  Her  defeat  at 
Langside  and  flight  into  England  were  to  complicate 
European  politics  for  the  next  eighteen  years. 

There  is  an  obscure  little  incident  which  curiously 
and,  as  it  turned  out,  fatally  connects  Knox  with  the 
battle  of  Langside.  On  May  22,  nine  prisoners  taken 
on  the  field  were  put  to  an  assize,  convicted  and 
sentenced  to  death.  It  had  always  been  Knox's 
privilege  to  intervene  between  those  condemned  to 
suffer  and  the  last  rigour  of  the  law.  The  nine  *'  were 
pardoned  at  the  request  of  Mr.  Knox."  One  of  the 
number  was  Hamilton  of  Bothwdlhaugh, 

With  the  dreary  and  discreditable  farce  of  the  Con- 
ferences at  York  and  at  "Westminster — where  the 
mutual  accusations  of  Mary  and  her  rebellious  sub- 
jects were  submitted  to  Commissioners  appointed  by 
Elizabeth,  (October  to  December  1568,) — Knox  had 
no  concern ;  his  biographer  is  thus  mercifully  spared 
the  perilous  task  of  pronouncing  on  the  genuineness  of 
the  Casket  Letters.  With  Knox  at  his  elbow,  instead 
of  Buchanan,  Moray  could  not  have   held   the    wary, 


190  JOHN   KNOX 

compromising  course  he  did ;  at  cue  point  prepared  to 
make  a  composition  with  Mary  and  to  receive  her  back, 
with  restricted  powers  but  whitewashed  reputation,  and, 
at  another,  to  produce  evidence — carefully  elaborated — 
such  as  must,  for  very  shame,  have  driven  all  her 
friends  from  her.  For  indeed  the  effrontery  and 
cleverness  of  one  Queen  and  the  mendacity,  wilfulness 
and  fickleness  of  the  other,  had  woven  a  confused  tangle 
of  lies  and  intrigues  through  which  it  seemed  impossible 
for  any  man  to  break  his  way  with  prudence  and 
honour.  Knox,  with  his  love  of  clear  issues,  must 
have  been  profoundly  disappointed  with  the  verdict. 
"  Nothing,"  it  was  declared,  "  had  been  deduced  against 
the  Earl  of  Moray  and  his  adherents  that  may  impair 
their  honour  or  allegiance  ;  and,  on  the  other  part,  there 
hath  nothing  been  sufficiently  produced  against  the 
Queen  their  sovereign  whereby  the  Queen  of  England 
should  take  any  evil  opinion  against  the  Queen,  her 
good  sister."  To  Knox  henceforth  all  the  evils  that 
fell  on  the  distracted  realm  of  Scotland, — the  plague 
that  visited  Edinburgh  in  1569,  the  famine  that  ensued, 
tlie  horrors  of  the  three  years  of  civil  war  that  followed 
— were  God's  judgments  on  the  "reservation  of  that 
wicked  woman,  whose  iniquity  known  and  lawfully  con- 
victed deserved  more  than  ten  deaths." 

Moray  returned  to  Scotland  in  January  1569.  The 
Conferences  had  at  least  this  result,  that  Mary  was  kept 
a  prisoner  in  England  while  her  brother  was  recognized 
as  Regent  by  the  English  Government.  For  the  next 
year,  his  last  on  earth,  he  was  to  lead  what  his  great 
ancestor  James  I.  had  called  a  "  dog's  life "  in  the 
sleepless  effort  to  repress  disorder.  In  the  North  the 
Earl  of  Huntley,  in  the  West  the  Hamiltous,  on  the 


MORAY'S  REGENCY  191 

Border,  restless  freebooters,  kept  hiui  constantly  under 
arms,  while  Elizabeth  harassed  him  and  Aveakened  his 
position  by  ill-timed  proposals  for  Mary's  restoration. 
His  chief  associates  and  supporters  were  among  the 
zealous  Protestants.  The  Ministers  lent  him  the  weight 
of  their  spiritual  authority;  from  the  Assembly  of 
March  1569  a  threat  of  excommunication  was  issued 
against  the  Hamiltons  couched  in  terms  as  forcible  and 
imperious  as  were  ever  used  by  Hildebrand  or  Thomas 
a  Becket. 

In  the  autumn  of  1569  the  rumour  reached  Knox — 
as  all  rumours  did  reach  him — that  it  was  proposed  in 
some  quarters  to  patch  up  matters  by  marrying  Mary  to 
the  Duke  of  Norfolk.  He  broke  out  indignantly,  "I 
see  England  become  more  foolish  than  foolish  Scotland. 
For  foolish  Scotland  would  not  obey  the  mouth  of  God 
when  He  had  delivered  that  vile  adulteress  and  cruel 
murderer  of  her  own  husband  into  their  hands  to  have 
suffered  as  her  iniquity  deserved." 

In  October  the  sudden,  abortive  Catholic  rising  in 
the  North  of  England  shook  Elizabeth's  confidence  and 
constrained  her  to  make  common  cause  with  Moray's 
Government.  In  Scotland,  it  led  to  the  final  breach 
between  Moray  and  Lethington.  It  was  not  altogether 
without  reason  that  the  Secretary  "  was  suspected  to  be 
the  contriver  of  all  the  plots  and  conspiracies  in 
England  and  Scotland."  From  the  day  of  Carberry 
Hill  onwards,  he  had  consistently  and  secretly  been 
working  in  Mary's  interests.  He  was  in  correspondence 
with  the  Queen ;  he  was  in  the  counsels  of  Norfolk ; 
he  secretly  dictated  the  policy  of  Mary's  friends  in 
Scotland.  It  was  becoming  imperative,  by  some  means 
or  other,  to  get  rid  of  "  the  necessary  evil,"  as  Moray 


192  JOHN   KNOX 

bitterly  nicknamed  his  former  friend.  Complicity  in 
the  King's  murder  was  a  convenient  accusation  to  keep 
in  readiness;  with  justice  it  might  have  been  brought 
at  any  time  against  the  chief  men  of  both  parties.  At 
the  Convention  at  Stirling  on  September  3,  it  was 
suddenly  launched  against  the  Secretary.  "  As  long  as  I 
Avas  with  them,  they  never  accused  me  of  the  King's 
murder;  ...  as  long  as  I  was  a  pillar  to  maintain 
their  unjust  authority  they  never  put  at  me  as  they 
do,"  is  his  own  bitter  but  matter-of-fact  explanation. 

He  was  sent  to  Edinburgh  and  received  as  prisoner 
of  State  by  the  Captain  of  the  Castle,  Kirkcaldy  of 
Grange,  not  without  opposition  on  the  part  of  the 
Kegent  and  his  friends  who  had  misgivings  as  to  the 
Captain's  loyalty.  Few  men  in  Scotland  could  show  as 
fair  a  record  as  the  Laird  of  Grange.  He  had  been  the 
bravest  and  not  the  least  self-sacrificing  of  the  Protestant 
leaders  during  the  Civil  War ;  he  had  followed  Moray 
into  exile  when  the  fortunes  of  the  Congregation  were 
at  the  lowest.  But  he  had  a  chivalrous  habit  of  being 
on  the  weaker  side.  On  the  day  when  she  lost  every- 
thing else,  Mary  won  to  her  service  the  stoutest  arm 
and  the  most  honest  heart  in  Scotland.  Lethington, 
with  his  personal  attraction,  the  active  scheming  of  his 
politic  brain  and  the  cunning  straightforwardness  of 
speech  which  he  affected,  fascinated  the  simpler 
character  of  the  soldier.  So  persuasive  was  the  tongue 
of  this  "  Machiavelli,"  that  had  it  been  possible  it  would 
have  deceived  the  very  elect.  On  September  20, 
Lethington  wrote  hopefully  to  Mary,  "I  have  of  late 
dealt  with  diverse  Ministers  here,  who  will  not  be 
repugnant  to  a  good  accord ;  howsoever,  I  think  Nox 
(sic)  be  inflexible,"     It  was  impossible  for  a  man  of  the 


MORAY'S  REGENCY  193 

world  and  a  politiciaD  like  the  Secretary  to  realize  the 
passion  of  religious  hatred  with  which  the  Reformer 
regarded  "Satan's  dearest  lieutenant,"  the  Queen  of 
Scots.  Knox's  political  sagacity  demanded  her  removal 
as  imperatively  as  his  religious  zeal  demanded  the 
execution  of  God's  righteous  judgments  on  her  iniquity. 
On  January  2,  1570,  he  wrote  urgently  to  Cecil :  "  If  ye 
strike  not  at  the  root,  the  branches  that  appear  to  be 
broken  will  bud  again  .  .  .  with  greater  force  than  we 
would  wish."  Years  before  he  had  warned  Cecil  against 
that  "  carnal  wisdom  and  worldly  policy  (to  which  both, 
ye  are  bruited  to  be  much  inclined)  " ;  now  he  urges 
him  to  "  turn  to  God  and  forget  yourself  and  yours." 
The  "  broken  branches"  to  which  Knox  refers  were  the 
leaders  of  the  Northern  Rising,  the  Earls  of  Northumber- 
land and  Westmoreland  who,  on  the  failure  of  their 
rebellion,  had  found  refuge  among  the  lawless  chiefs  of 
the  Scottish  Border.  Moray  had  perhaps  only  played 
the  part  of  a  faithful  ally  to  Queen  Elizabeth  when 
he  pursued  her  rebels  and  succeeded  in  capturing 
Northumberland,  but  his  action  was  resented  by  most 
of  his  countrymen  as  a  national  disgrace  and  an  outrage 
on  hospitality,  the  one  virtue  universally  recognized  in 
Scotland. 

His  breach  with  Lethington — still  more,  his  action 
with  regard  to  Northumberland — had  added  to  the 
number  of  Moray's  enemies,  but  the  most  dangerous  of 
these,  the  Hamiltons,  cherished  a  deadlier  and  a  more 
personal  hostility.  As  next  heirs  to  the  throne  they 
claimed  the  Regency  and  bitterly  resented  Moray's 
ascendancy. 

Early  in  January  1570  Moray  had  gone  to  the  West 
Country  despite  the  anxious  warnings  of  his  friends. 


\^ 


194  JOHN   KNOX 

During  his  absence  Knox  had  an  interview  with  the 
Abbot  of  Kilwinning,  one  of  the  chief  men  among  the 
Hamiltons,  who  begged  his  interest  with  the  Regent  to 
obtain  pardon  for  certain  of  his  relations.  It  was  the 
kind  of  request  that  Knox  rarely  refused ;  but  he  had 
a  profound  distrust  of  the  Hamiltons,  and  added  this 
warning:  "Abuse  not  my  labours,  my  Lord,  although 
I  be  a  poor  man,  yet  I  am  a  servant  of  God,  and  would 
be  loth  to  be  spotted  without  any  dishonesty  .  .  .  But 
this  I  will  protest  before  God  .  .  .  that  if  there  be 
anything  attempted  in  that  surname  against  the  person 
of  that  man,  I  discharge  myself  of  you  and  them  for 
ever."  After  this  interview  Knox's  anxiety  seems  to 
have  taken  the  shape  of  definite  presentiment.  Two 
several  times  he  sent  his  confidential  servant  to  the 
Countess  of  Moray  to  urge  her  to  warn  her  husband 
against  passing  through  Linlithgow. 

When  at  last  the  blow  fell,  and  a  shot  from  an 
upper  window  in  Linlithgow  struck  down  the  "  Good 
Regent,"  it  added  a  bitter  pang  to  Knox  to  learn  that 
it  had  been  fired  by  Hamilton  of  Bothwellhaugh,  the 
man  whose  life  he  had  saved.  The  Abbot  of  Kilwin- 
ning, anxious  to  disavow  all  knowledge  of  the  deed, 
was  urgent  to  see  Knox,  but  he  closed  his  door  on  him 
with  the  bitter  sarcasm :  "  I  have  not  the  Regent  to 
make  suit  unto  for  the  Hamiltons." 

There  is  a  weight  of  personal  sorrow  in  the  prayer 
in  which  Knox  publicly  lamented  Moray's  death :  "  0 
Lord,  in  what  misery  and  confusion  found  he  this 
realm !  And  to  what  rest  and  quietness  now  by  his 
labours  suddenly  he  hath  brought  the  same,  all  Estates, 
but  especially  the  poor  Commons,  can  witness.  Thy 
image,   Lord,  did   so   clearly  shine  in  him,   that   the 


MORAY'S  REGENCY  195 

Devil,  and  the  wicked,  to  whom  he  is  prince,  could  not 
abide  it  ...  He  is  at  rest,  O  Lord,  and  we  are  left 
in  extreme  misery." 

From  this  mood  of  despondency  he  was  stirred  to 
active  indignation  by  slanders  against  himself,  the  late 
Regent,  and  others,  his  associates.     A  singular  paper 
was  going  from  hand  to  hand  purporting  to  be  a  letter 
from  some  one  in  the  Regent's  household.     The  writer 
describes  himself  as  roused  one  morning  from  sleep  in 
his  little  inner  room  by  the  assembling  of  guests  in  the 
Regent's   private   chamber.      Through  a  crack  in  the 
wall  he  recognized  Moray's  familiar  acquaintances,  Lord 
Lindsay,  the  Laird  of  Pitarrow,  Macgill,  Clerk  Register, 
John    Knox,    and    some    other    notable    Protestants. 
Listening,  he  overhears  startling  matters.     Moray  be- 
gins the  conversation,  suggesting  the  advice  he  desires 
his  friends  to  urge   on   him,  namely,  that   he  should 
possess  himself  of  the  Crown.      Lord  Lindley  speaks 
next  —  a   blunt,    plain   man,    affecting    swash-buckler 
phrases,  and  bragging  that  if  it  comes  to  blows  he  will 
play  his    part.      Knox  follows  with   a  "stuir  (husky) 
and  krocken  (croaking)  voice  "  and  "  eyes  uplifted  to 
Heaven."     So  admirably  have  the  rhythm  and  diction 
of  his   style   been  caught,  that  any  one  reading  the 
first  phrases  inattentively  would  certainly  think  them 
genuine.      Even  when  he  ends  by  declaring  that  he 
has  written  a  companion  pamphlet  to  the  Blast  against 
the  Regiment  of  Women,  proving  "  that  birth  has  no 
power  to  promote,  nor  yet  bastardy  to  exclude  men 
from  government,"  it  is  only  the  matter  and  not  the 
manner  that  is  incredible.     In  perfect  character,  Moray 
disclaims   all   ambition,   but   adds :    "  But   I   will   not 
oppose  myself  to  the  will  of  God  revealed  in  you,  who 


196  JOHN   KNOX 

are  His  true  minister."  If  we  were  familiar  with  the 
rest  of  the  company  we  should  probably  recognize  as 
equally  happy  the  neat,  classical  apologue  of  the  Tutor 
of  Pitcure,  the  pragmatical  pedantry  of  Mr.  John  Wood, 
and  the  broken  hints  and  allusions  of  that  "  wily  child," 
the  Clerk  Register. 

If  this  production  was  meant  merely  as  a  political 
satire,  its  exceeding  fineness  defeated  its  end.  That 
generation  of  Scotsmen  had  laughed  over  Sir  David 
Lindsay's  picturesque  and  pungent  Satires;  it  could 
enjoy  Knox's  occasional  harsh  outbursts  of  laughter 
over  the  follies  and  disasters  of  his  opponents  ;  nor  was 
the  dull  and  elaborate  sarcasm  of  Buchanan's  Chameleon 
beyond  its  comprehension ;  but  it  had  no  understanding 
of  satirical  portraiture  which  kept  so  close  to  proba- 
bility that  it  never  passed  into  caricature.  The  letter 
was  received  with  a  burst  of  indignation,  "  as  the  most 
malicious  lies  that  ever  man  invented."  Some  even 
of  Knox's  admirers  had  an  anxious  misgiving  that  it 
might  be  true.  Women  are  proverbially  deficient  in 
a  sense  of  irony ;  it  was  one  of  "  the  devouter  sex," 
Alice  Sandilands,  Lady  of  Ormiston,  who,  in  great 
perturbation,  brought  the  pamphlet  to  Knox.  Her 
mind  was  only  put  at  rest  when  the  preacher  on  the 
following  Sunday,  from  his  pulpit  in  St.  Giles',  de- 
nounced "  the  Devil,  the  father  of  lies,  as  the  chief 
inventor  of  the  letter,"  and  prophesied  a  lonely  death 
in  a  strange  land  to  the  penman  of  it.  The  fine  wits, 
which  were  the  inheritance  of  all  the  "  brothers  of  the 
House  of  Lethington,"  had  already  made  some  of  the 
young  Maitlands  suspected.  Going  out  of  church  that 
Sunday  Mr.  Thomas,  younger  brother  to  the  Secretary, 
admitted  that  he  was  the  writer  of  the  pamphlet. 


MORAY'S  REGENCY  197 

On  February  14,  Moray  was  buried  in  the  south 
aisle  of  St.  Giles'.  Knox  preached  from  the  text,  "  Beati 
mortui  qui  in  Domino  moriuntur,"  moving  many  to 
tears.  His  own  heart  was  heavy  and  full  of  foreboding. 
The  next  day  he  wrote  in  his  journal :  "  And  so  I 
end,  rendering  my  troubled  spirit  in  the  hands  of  the 
eternal  God  .  .  .  All  debts  known  to  me  are  paid, 
death  only  excepted,  which  I  defy,  for  the  sting  of  it 
is  destroyed  by  Jesus  Christ,  Who  is  my  life  now  and 
ever." 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

KNOX   AND   KIRKCALDY  OF   GRANGE. 

The  death  of  Moray  left  Knox  sadly  isolated.  Of 
the  old  band  with  whom  he  had  wronght  and  fought 
in  the  Civil  War  of  1559-60,  the  Duke,  Lethington, 
Grange  and  Argyle  were  all  on  the  Queen's  side.  So 
destitute  was  the  King's  party  of  capable  leaders,  that  it 
was  constrained  to  choose,  as  the  new  Regent,  the  King's 
grandfather,  the  Catholic  Earl  of  Lennox,  whose  return 
to  Scotland  five  years  before  had  raised  an  outcry  among 
the  faithful.  His  incapacity  was  a  jest  among  the 
Queen's  faction.  "  Whether  the  Earl  of  Lennox's  back 
be  able  to  carry  the  heavy  burden  which  her  weak 
shoulders  could  not  bear,  let  the  world  judge,  especially 
such  as  are  acquainted  with  his  naturality,  and  have 
good  proof  how  gravely  he  can  discourse  on  matters  of 
State."  The  sneer  is  probably  Lethington's.  The  real 
head  of  the  King's  party  was  the  Earl  of  Morton  whose 
gi'eed  and  private  vices  were  a  by- word.  He  had  stood 
selfishly  aloof  in  the  early  struggle  and  had  taken  no 
part  in  the  Reformation  except  to  share  the  crimes  and 
to  divide  the  spoil.  These  were  strange  allies  for  Knox 
whose  single-mindedness  and  sincerity  his  worst  enemies 
could  not  deny.     He  was  at  this  time  sixty-five  years 


KNOX   AND   KIRKCALDY  OF  ORANGE         199 

of  age,  and  constant  labours  and  anxieties  had  made  him 
an  old  man  ;  attacks  of  pain  and  despondency  became 
more  frequent.  The  brief,  imperative  note  to  Cecil, 
already  referred  to  (January  2,  1570),  is  subscribed  : 
"  John  Knox  with  his  one  foot  in  the  grave."  In  the 
autumn  of  this  year  (1570)  he  had  a  stroke  of  paralysis. 
His  speech  was  ever  afterwards  affected,  and  his  voice, 
never  very  strong,  could  no  longer  fill  St.  Giles'.  He 
still  preached  every  Sunday  but  he  had  to  creep 
slowly  up  the  street  leaning  on  his  "  club." 

There  was  a  young  man  at  this  time  in  his  household, 
half  secretary,  half  servant,  named  Richard  Bannatyne, 
who  describes  himself  as  gladly  doing  Knox  menial 
service,  "  not  so  much  for  worldly  commodity,  as  for  the 
integrity  and  uprightness  he  knew  to  be  in  him."  The 
pen  had  fallen  from  his  master's  hand,  we  have  no  more 
of  his  short,  passionate  comments  on  current  events; 
but  this  secretary,  a  stupid,  observant  man,  had  an  in- 
discriminating  industry  in  collecting  and  transcribing 
alike  political  news  and  minute  gossip.  Posterity  would 
have  been  more  grateful  to  him  if  he  had  had  the 
foresight  to  record  his  master's  table-talk. 

As  Knox  grew  weaker  in  body,  the  cares  and  con- 
tradictions and  conflicts  of  life  lay  more  heavily  on  his 
spirit.  Though  he  might  write  with  all  sincerity  :  "  I 
have  taken  my  good-night  of  the  world,  and  all  the 
*  fascherie  '  (vexations)  of  the  same  except  to  lament  for 
my  own  sins,  and  for  the  sins  of  others,"  it  was  impossible 
for  him  to  leave  the  world  to  go  on  its  own  ungodly 
way.  To  himself  it  seemed  as  if  his  inward  vision  were 
growing  preternaturally  clear.  His  denunciations  of  his 
enemies  took  most  frequently  the  form  of  foretelling 
particular  evils  against  them  ;  prophecies  which  more 


200  JOHN   KNOX 

than  once,  in  that  fanatical  and  superstitious  age,  brought 
about  their  own  fulfilment.     In  ordinary  occurrences  he 
saw  signs  and  wonders.    One  evening  the  noisy  garrison 
up  in  the  Castle  were  having  a  mock  combat,  and  three 
shots  were  fired.     Knox  was  sitting  with  two  friends  in 
his  house  in  the  Netherbow.     To  his  visionary  sense 
those  three  stray  shots  brought  some  mysterious  message, 
but  the  weary  mind  and  the  heavily- weighted  tongue 
refused  to  convey  it.     "  I   could  expound  if  I  might 
speak,  the  mystery  of  yon  three  cannons ;  but  because 
the  night  is  far  spent,  and  I  may  not  well  speak,  I 
conclude  with  this  sentence  of  Solomon, '  Ante  ruinam 
praeit  fastus.' "      His  most   mystical   utterances  were, 
after  all,  generally  based  on  solid  practical  judgment 
and  experience.     "  I  saw  as  great  bravado  in  the  Castle 
of  St.  Andrews,"  he  added,  "  and  yet  few  days  brought  a 
miserable  desolation."     A  story  has  become  traditional 
that  one  evening,  by  an  inexplicable  impulse,  he  left  his 
usual  seat  at  supper  which  was  opposite  the  window, 
and  took  his  place  at  one  side  of  the  table.     As  he  and 
his  household  sat  at  meat,  a  shot  shattered  the  window 
and  struck  the  vacant  chair  at  the  head  of  the  table. 
Unauthenticated  as  is  this  legend,  it  serves  to  show  the 
superstitious  sanctity  that  was  attached  by  his  followers 
to  his  person.     "  Meddle  with  him  who  will,  to  his  hurt," 
wrote  one  of  his  friends  to  an  officer  of  the  garrison, 
"  God  shall  revenge  it  ere  it  be  long." 
.      During  the  winter  of  1570-71  the  country  was  drift- 
's/ ing  into  civil  war,  a  war  of  factions,  treacheries,  and 
greed.     If  there  were  any  virtue,  patriotism  or  good 
faith  among  the  combatants,  it  was  not  more  discernible 
on  the  one  side  than  on  the  other.     Knox's  colleague, 
the  fearless  and  judicious  Craig,  denounced  both  sides 


KNOX  AND  KIRKCALDY  OF  GRANGE         201 

equally.  Knox  was  a  stronger  partisan  ;  hatred  of  the 
Queen  and  her  crimes  kept  him  unfaltering  on  the 
side  of  the  King's  party. 

In  Edinburgh  the  feeling  between  the  town  and  the 
Castle  grew  daily  more  strained.  In  December  1570 
a  servant  of  the  Laird  of  Grange  had  been  clapped 
into  the  city  gaol  for  an  act  of  violence  done  at  Leith 
in  his  master's  quarrel.  In  defiance  of  all  good  order, 
the  Captain  sent  armed  men,  under  cover  of  a  dark 
night,  who  broke  open  the  prison,  brought  off  their  own 
man,  and  set  the  other  inmates  free.  Fearful  or 
treacherous,  the  authorities  made  no  remonstrance,  but, 
next  Sunday  in  St.  Giles'  the  old  preacher  spoke  out 
with  broken  utterance  but  unabated  fire.  The  affection 
he  had  formerly  felt  for  Grange  gave  pathetic  weight  to 
his  reproaches.  "If  the  committer  had  been  a  man 
without  God,  a  throat-cutter,  and  such  as  had  never 
known  the  works  of  God,  it  had  moved  me  no  more 
than  other  riots  and  enormities  .  .  .  but  to  see  stars 
fall  from  Heaven,  and  a  man  of  knowledge  to  commit 
such  manifest  treason,  what  godly  heart  cannot  lament, 
tremble,  and  fear  ? " 

Grange  had  given  up  the  habit  of  going  to  church — 
he  had  found  it  irksome  and  mortifying  to  have  personal 
rebukes  hurled  at  him  from  the  pulpit — but  eager 
informers,  stupidly  inaccurate  or  treacherously  bent  on 
mischief,  hastened  to  tell  him  that  he  had  been  called 
"  murderer,"  "  cut-throat,"  and  "  man  without  God." 
The  high  spirit  and  hot  temper  of  the  soldier  was 
naturally  stung.  He  wrote  to  the  Session  of  Edinburgh, 
angrily  accusing  Knox  of  exceeding  the  bounds  of  his 
office  ;  "  which,  probably,  he  has  done  of  private  grudge, 
to  alienate  the  hearts  of  all  honest  men  from  me,  and 


202  JOHN   KNOX 

to  make  me  odious  and  contemptible,  rather  tlian  for 
correction's  sake."  When  however  on  the  following- 
Sunday  Knox  repeated  his  former  words  with  emphasis, 
the  Captain  declared  himself  satisfied,  and  here  the 
quarrel  between  the  two  old  friends  might  have  ended. 
But  Knox  would  not  let  the  matter  rest  there.  In  his 
defence  of  himself  presented  to  the  Session,  he  repeats 
his  accusation  in  an  altered  and  sophistical  shape :  "  To 
the  said  William's  complaint  I  answer  nothing,  save 
only  this  :  that  his  own  confession  convicts  him  to  be  a 
murderer  in  heart  .  .  .  for  our  Master  Jesus  Christ  and 
His  apostle  John  pronounced  the  hatred  of  the  heart  to 
be  murder  before  God ;  yea,  John  affirms  '  that  whoso 
loveth  not  his  brother  is  a  raanslayer.'  " 

But  neither  the  brawl  at  Leith  with  its  fatal  termina- 
tion nor  the  lawless  assault  on  the  Tolbooth  was  the 
worst  of  Grange's  offences  in  Knox's  eye.  "  What  it 
is  to  accuse  a  minister  for  the  function  of  his  office,  I 
suppose  you  understand  ?  "  he  asked  the  Session  sternly, 
standing  before  them  leaning  on  his  staff.  The 
sacerdotal  authority  of  the  Romish  priesthood  was  being 
rapidly  replaced  in  the  Protestant  Church  of  Scotland 
by  a  mysterious  sanctity  attached  to  certain  preachers 
by  right  of  prophetic  gifts  which  they  believed  them- 
selves to  hold  directly  from  God.  In  this  sacred  character 
Knox  claimed  not  only  immunity  from  criticism  but 
also  recognition  as  one  peculiarly  identified  with  God's 
cause.  As  early  as  1558,  in  his  Appellation  to  the 
Nobility  of  Scotland  from  the  unjust  accusation  of  the 
prelates,  he  had  been  bold  to  tell  them  that  if  they 
refused  his  petition  "  God  (Whom  in  me  ye  contemn) 
will  also  refuse  you." 

The  General  Assembly  met  at   Edinburgh   in   the 


KNOX   AND   KIEKCALDY  OF  GRANGE         203 

beginning  of  March.  The  presence  of  a  hostile  garrison 
seems  to  have  subdued  the  spirit  of  the  Ministers. 
Knox  was  left  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  battle  alone. 
The  Assembly  met  in  a  room  immediately  below  that 
in  which  the  Lords  of  Session  held  their  meetings. 
One  day  a  paper  was  dropped  from  the  upper  into  the 
lower  room.  It  was  unsigned  and  accused  Knox  of 
railing  at  Mary  and  of  refusing  to  pray  for  her.  "  Good, 
godly  Mr.  Richard  Bannatyne,"  moved  by  affection  and 
officious  zeal,  urged  the  Assembly  to  sign  a  bond  unani- 
mously supporting  his  master.  There  was  no  alacrity 
to  sign ;  on  the  contrary,  some  of  the  brethren  were 
earnest  with  Knox  that  he  should  pass  over  the  accusa- 
tions in  silence.  He  answered  shortly, "  The  Church  may 
forbid  me  preaching,  but  to  stop  my  tongue  being  in  the 
pulpit  it  may  not."  As  to  the  accusation  of  railing,  he 
declared  himself  ready  to  acknowledge  himself  a  railer 
if  the  Queen  were  indeed  innocent  of  the  crime  laid 
to  her  charge  ;  but,  he  asks,  How  many  of  her  friends, 
in  their  consciences,  believe  in  her  innocence  ?  Among 
those  who  espoused  Mary's  cause,  it  is  difficult  to  make 
out  if  any  believed  her  to  be  guiltless.  They  certainly 
made  no  remonstrance  to  the  damnatory  prayer  of  one 
of  her  own  supporters,  the  Bishop  of  Galloway  :  "  If  we 
should  not  pray  for  sinners,  for  whom  should  we  pray  ? 
...  St.  David  was  a  sinner,  and  so  is  she  ;  St.  David 
was  an  adulterer,  and  so  is  she ;  St.  David  committed 
murder  in  slaying  Urias  for  his  wife,  and  so  did  she." 

But  if  Knox  flung  off  the  main  accusation  in  this 
manner,  two  taunts  in  the  libel  cut  him  to  the  quick. 
Not  without  sufficient  grounds  the  writer  had  described 
him  as  "  entering  into  God's  secret  counsel  as  though 
he  were  privy  thereof  and   called   thereto."     In  this 


204  JOHN  KNOX 

very  sermon,  Knox  had  hinted  at  a  mysterious  power 
bestowed  on  himself,  whereby  he  could  influence  the 
judgments  of  God.  Admitting  that  he  had  always 
desired  the  confusion  of  Mary  and  her  flatterers,  he 
added,  "  I  praise  my  God,  He  of  His  mercy  has  not  dis- 
appointed my  first  just  prayer;  let  them  call  it  impre- 
cation or  execration  as  pleases  them.  It  has  oftener 
than  once  stricken,  and  shall  strike,  in  despite  of  man." 
Yet  he  was  sincerely  aghast  at  the  accusation  of  spiritual 
arrogance  :  "  If  my  accusers  understood  how  fearful  my 
conscience  is,  and  ever  has  been,  to  exceed  the  bonds  of 
my  vocation,  they  would  not  so  boldly  have  accused 
me." 

The  libel  had  ended  with  a  threat  of  further  accusa- 
tions against  Knox  to  follow  at  the  next  Assembly, 
"  provided  he  be  then  law-abiding,  and  not  fugitive 
according  to  his  accustomed  manner."  If  this  sneer  re- 
called the  old,  uneasy  scruples  as  to  his  own  conduct, 
there  is  a  noble  dignity  in  the  old  man's  reply  to  it; 
whether  he  be  law-abiding  or  not,  was,  he  declared,  in 
the  hands  of  Him  who,  through  many  troubles  had 
preserved  him  to  this  "decrepit  age  which  now  is  not 
like  to  fly  far." 

The  "  Castilians  "  (as  the  garrison  was  called)  had 
discovered  the  way  to  torment  Knox.  Two  Sundays 
later  another  anonymous  letter  was  nailed  to  the  door 
of  the  Tolbooth.  It  was  drawn  up  with  skill,  the  work 
evidently  of  "  some  lawless  man-of-law's  brain."  The 
notes  of  that  unlucky  First  Blast  were  to  ring  in 
Knox's  ears  once  again.  A  dilemma  was  put  in  the 
libel  neatly  enough ;  either  the  doctrine  of  that  book 
was  seditious,  or,  if  it  were  true,  how  came  Knox  to 
pray  for  the  Queen  of  England,  and  even  to  invoke  her 


KNOX  AND  KIRKCALDY  OF  GRANGE        205 

aid  "  against  his  own    native  country,  and  the  liberty 
thereof"  ? 

Knox  was  never  arrested  by  a  logical  difficulty.  He 
got  out  of  the  dilemma,  though  in  a  way  that  would 
hardly  have  conciliated  Elizabeth.  "The  prayer  of 
God's  servants  for  the  maintenance  of  Commonwealths, 
where  the  people  of  God  remains,  does  not  prove  that 
they  allow  all  things  done  in  such  Commonwealths  ; 
neither  yet  does  the  seeking  of  help  (even  from  the 
wicked)  prove  that  the  godly  justifies  the  wicked," 

To  the  wanton  and  lying  accusation  that  he  had 
failed  in  patriotism,  there  was  no  answer  possible  but 
indignant,  brief  denial :  "  One  thing  I  may  not  preter- 
mit, to  give  him  the  lie  in  his  throat  that  either  dare  or 
will  say  that  ever  I  sought  support  against  my  own 
country," 

He  had  told  angry  men  the  truth  to  their  faces  ;  he 
could  boast  truly  that  he  had  "  made  himself  and  all 
his  doings  manifest  to  the  world,"  Now  he  was  himself 
struck  at  in  the  dark  by  an  unknown  hand,  "  To  me  it 
seems,"  he  declares,  "  a  thing  most  unreasonable,  that, 
in  this  my  decrepit  age,  I  shall  be  compelled  to  fight 
against  shadows  and  owlets,  that  dare  not  abide  the 
light." 

In  the  spring  of  1571  the  smouldering  fire  of  civil  war 
burst  into  a  blaze.  In  April  the  leaders  of  the  Queen's  ^ 
faction  assembled  in  Edinburgh.  From  the  stronghold 
of  the  Castle  they  meant  to  defy  the  Regent  and  the 
Earl  of  Morton.  The  first  to  arrive  was  "  the  head  of 
wit,  the  Secretary."  He,  like  Knox,  was  stricken  by 
disease ;  though  he  was  so  helpless  that  he  had  to  be 
carried  from  Leith  to  the  Castle  in  a  litter,  yet  from  his 
sick  bed  he  directed  all  the  counsels  of  his  party.     The 


206  JOHN  KNOX 

town  filled  rapidly  with  the  Hamiltons  and  their  allies, 
among  whom  many  were  bitterly  hostile  to  Knox.  It 
became  a  question  whether  his  life  were  safe  amongst 
them.  On  April  19,  some  of  the  brethren  watched 
all  night  round  his  house.  When  they  appealed  to  the 
Captain  for  protection,  Grange  offered  a  guard  to  convey 
their  minister  to  and  from  church,  commanded  by  one 
of  his  officers  whom  he  recommended  as  "  an  old  Protes- 
tant." "An  old  Protestant  like  the  Secretary,"  is 
Knox's  comment.  But  with  the  town  full  of  reckless 
men-at-arms  and  hostile  Hamiltons,  Grange  would  take 
no  further  responsibility  unless  Knox  would  come  up  to 
the  Castle,  where  he  should  be  assured  of  honourable 
treatment.  Knox's  friends  urged  him  to  quit  the  city 
but  at  first  he  declined  to  forsake  his  charofe. 
,  By  the  end  of  April  Lennox  and  Morton  were  en- 

camped at  Leith  and  skirmishes  took  place  daily.  The 
roof  of  St.  Giles'  was  fortified,  and  cannons  were  planted 
on  the  steeple.  (The  soldiers  in  jest  called  the  largest 
of  them  "  Knox,"  and  when  it  burst  and  killed  several 
of  them,  the  godly  recognized  the  Divine  judgment  on 
their  ribaldry.)  Seeing  that  it  was  impossible  to  carry 
on  services  under  these  conditions,  "John  Knox  de- 
parted the  town  on  May  5,  1571,  sore  against  his  will, 
being  compelled  of  the  brethren  of  the  Church  and 
town ;  because  that  his  tarry  would  be  an  occasion  of 
further  trouble  to  them." 


CHAPTER   XXill. 

ST.  ANDREWS.      (1571 — 1572.) 

The  little,  grey  cathedral  town  of  St.  Audicws  set 
beside  a  wintry  sea  has  a  charm,  denied  to  many  happier 
places,  potent  to  call  back  to  lier  those  who  have  at  any 
time  tarried  long  beneath  the  shadow  of  her  towers. 
But  it  was  probably  reasons  of  safety  rather  than  of 
sentiment  that  sent  Knox  back  to  the  scene  of  his  early 
ministry,  when  he  was  driven  out  of  Edinburgh  in  the 
summer  of  1571.  Civil  war  was  raging  over  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  kingdom.  Kyle,  his  former 
refuge,  lay  too  near  the  country  of  the  Harailtons  to 
offer  him  shelter,  while  the  East  Neuk  of  Fife  was 
at  least  remote  from  scenes  of  bloodshed.  But  St. 
Andrews  was  not  exactly  the  place  where  a  world- 
weary  man  could  find  peace.  An  active,  highly  organized 
society,  ecclesiastical  and  academic,  crowded  together  in 
narrow  streets  and  College  buildings,  could  hardly 
lack  subjects  of  jealousy  and  conflict ;  to  these  local 
bickerings  there  was  added,  in  the  summer  of  1571,  a 
contention  which,  while  it  agitated  the  whole  Church 
of  Scotland,  happened  to  have  its  centre  in  St.  Andrews. 

Morton  had  been  sent  in  the  spring  of  1571  on  an 
embassy  to  Elizabeth,  and  had,  at  least,  succeeded  in 
preventing  that  wavering  politician  from  sending  help 


208  JOHN   KNOX 

to  the  Queen's  party  in  Scotland.  As  a  reward  for  his 
services,  he,  on  his  return,  bestowed  on  himself  the 
Archbishopric  of  St,  Andrews,  left  vacant  by  the  exe- 
cution of  Archbishop  Hamilton.  To  cloak  this  act  of 
rapacity,  he  appointed  as  nominal  Archbishop,  John 
Douglas,  the  old  and  simple-minded  Rector  of  the 
University  of  St.  Andrews,  who,  for  his  share,  was  to 
have  the  dignity  and  the  duties  of  the  See,  while 
Morton  seized  the  emoluments  and  the  patronage.  It 
was  the  heaviest  blow  that  had  been  aimed  at  the 
Reformed  Church  of  Scotland  since  she  was  a  Church 
at  all,  and  it  came  from  the  head  of  the  party  on  whose 
success  in  arras  her  very  existence  depended  ! 

By  this  system,  initiated  by  Morton,  greedy  nobles 
could  continue  to  enrich  themselves  and  their  kindred 
out  of  the  Church's  patrimony  as  unscrupulously  as  in 
the  worst  times  of  Catholicism,  while  they  would  care- 
fully choose  to  fill  the  higher  posts  in  the  Church  such 
Ministers  as  would  not  dare  to  rebuke  the  avarice  nor 
curb  the  violence  of  their  patrons.  Frail  and  confined 
to  bed  and  only  able  to  write  to  dictation,  Knox  had 
left  the  duty  of  defending  the  Church  from  this  new 
tyranny  to  Erskine  of  Dun,  whose  letter  to  the  Regent 
is  as  fearless  and  noble  a  protest  as  ever  came  from  the 
hands  of  Knox  himself.  But  when  in  the  last  days  of 
August  1571  the  General  Assembly  met  at  Stirling, 
Knox  sent  a  clear  and  authoritative  message  to  his 
sorely-perplexed  and  despondent  brethren.  "  Remember 
the  judge  before  whom  ye  stand,  and  resist  that  tyranny 
as  ye  would  Hell-fire."  Morton  was  all-powerful  in  the 
Parliament  that  sat  at  Stirling  in  the  last  days  of 
August;  when  the  Assembly  presented  their  protest 
against  this  new  invasion  of  the  Church's  liberty,  Len- 


ST.  ANDKEWS  209 

nox,  the  Catholic  Regent,  thought  it  most  "  reasonable," 
but  Morton,  in  his  hectoring  fashion,  called  the  Ministers 
"  proud  knaves,"  and  vowed  that  "  he  would  lay  their 
pride  and  put  order  thereto." 

A  week  later  the  Parliament  was  rudely  interrupted  ; 
a  body  of  the  Queen's  troops  was  sent  from  Edinburgh 
to  surprise  the  town  and  seize  the  person  of  the  Regent 
and  his  associates.  Had  Grange  commanded  as  well  as 
devised  the  attack,  it  would  probably  have  been  as 
successful  as  it  was  daring.  As  it  was,  it  only  failed  by 
a  hair's-breadth.  In  the  fray  Lennox  lost  his  life. 
The  Earl  of  Mar  was  within  four-and-twenty  hours  iX 
chosen  Regent  in  his  place.  If  he  had  no  conspicuous 
ability,  he  had  shown,  both  as  Captain  of  Edinburgh 
Castle  and  later  as  guardian  of  the  King,  an  incorrupt- 
ible fidelity,  which  was  a  finer  and  rarer  distinction  in 
those  days.  But  he  was  powerless,  even  if  he  were 
willing,  to  oppose  Morton's  design  on  the  Church. 

In  the   following   January   (1572)  an  Assembly   of 
Ministers  met  the  Lords  of  the  Council  at  Leith.     In 
the  previous  autumn  the  Ministers   had  expostulated 
boldly  with  the  Regent  against  the  new  tyranny  of 
Morton   and  his  fellows.     But,  at   the  Convention  of 
Leith,  this  boldness  had  given  place  to  a  spirit  of  com- 
promise.    The  dangerous   state   of  the   country    had 
prevented  many  of  the  Ministers  attending ;  those  who 
were  present  were  over-awed  by  Morton  and  others  of 
the  Lords  "  who  were  hunting  for  fat  Church  livings." 
In    undignified    haste   the    desired   concessions    were 
made.    "  At  that  meeting,  Bishops,  Archdeacons,  Deans, 
Chapters,  and  Chancellors  were  agreed  upon  to  stand 
during  the  King's  minority;  but  Bishops  to  have  no 
further  jurisdiction  than  Superintendents." 


7 


210  JOHN   KNOX 

This  system  of  Morton's  invention,  by  which  the 
highest  dignitaries  of  the  Church  became  mere  "  Tul- 
chans  "  ^  in  the  hands  of  greedy  nobles,  was  the  cause  of 
that  detestation  of  bishops  which  in  the  next  century 
was  raised  in  Scotland  into  a  religious  principle  of  such 
importance,  that  men  were  not  only  willing  to  die  for 
it  but  even  to  put  others  to  death.  This  feeling  sprang 
up  in  the  first  instance  from  no  abstract  objection  to  an 
ecclesiastical  system.  The  Superintendents  appointed 
by  the  Booh  of  Discipline  were  practically  bishops  shorn 
of  wealth  and  ceremonial  and  political  power.  Erskine 
of  Dun  uses  the  two  terms  interchangeably ;  and  Knox, 
though  he  thanked  God  that  "he  was  but  a  painful 
preacher  of  His  blessed  Evangel  and  not  a  lord-like 
bishop,"  inveighs,  not  against  the  office  but  against  the 
pomp  attached  to  it. 

Even  in  the  servile  Assembly  at  Leith  there  was  one 
fearless  voice  raised  on  behalf  of  the  Ministers  whose 
poverty  was  as  afflicting  under  a  Protestant  Regent  as 
formerly  under  a  Catholic  Queen.  Robert  Ferguson,  a 
man  of  wit  and  character,  preaching  before  the  Regent 
told  him  boldly  that  "  the  reason  why  ye  have  not  pre- 
vailed against  yon  throat-cutters  and  unnatural  mur- 
derers within  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh  ...  is  this,  that 
the  spoil  of  the  poor  is  within  your  household  .  .  . 
Seeing  there  is  enough  (and  overmuch)  to  do  it,  let  the 
preachers  of  God's  "Word  be  reasonably  sustained,  the 
schools  and  poor  well  provided,  and  the  temples  honestly 
and  reverently  repaired,  that  the  people  without  injury 
of  wind  or  weather  may  sit  and  hear  God's  Word."  It 
was   not  often  that   Knox  rejoiced  in  spirit,  but  this 

^  Stuffed  calf-skins  placed  under  cows  to  induce  them  to  give 
their  milk. 


ST.  ANDREWS  211 

faithful  echo  of  his  own  trumpet  stirred  his  heart.  The 
copy  of  Ferguson's  sermon  presented  to  the  Kegent  is 
subscribed  (along  with  the  names  of  other  Ministers)  by 
"  John  Knox,  with  my  dead  hand  but  glad  heart,  prais- 
ing God,  that  of  His  mercy  He  leaves  such  light  to  His 
Church  in  this  desolation." 

Knox  was  'to  find  at  St.  Andrews  that  there  was  no 
lack  of  torch-bearers  to  hand  on  the  light  that  he  had 
kindled.  During  the  autumn  and  winter  of  1571-72  he 
grew  weaker  from  month  to  month,  though  without 
much  "  corporal  pain."  It  was  a  severe  season,  and  he 
came  little  "  out  of  bed  and  from  his  book."  His  *'  dull 
heart "  constantly  meditating  on  the  state  of  Scotland 
and  of  the  Church,  found  cause  enough  for  fear  and 
despondency.  He  was  driven  to  the  admission  that  the 
Protestant  nobles  "  take  no  more  care  of  the  instruction 
of  the  ignorant  and  of  the  feeding  of  the  flock  of  Jesus 
Christ  than  ever  did  the  Papists  whom  ive  have  condeimied, 
and  yet  are  worse  ourselves  in  that  hehal/y  But  the 
Reformer  or  thinker  may  be  well  content  who  finds  his 
own  thought  again  in  the  convictions  of  the  men  under 
thirty.  The  Abbey  where  Knox  had  his  lodgings  lay 
near  St.  Leonard's  College,  and  the  "  regents  "  or  fellows 
resorted  daily  to  him  after  dinner  or  supper  to  hear  him 
talk.  On  mild  days  he  would  himself  creep  along  the 
street,  wrapt  in  his  furred  mantle,  leaning  on  his  staff 
and  on  the  arm  of  Richard  Bannatyne.  He  would  often 
turn  into  the  court  of  St.  Leonard's  College  to  rest,  and 
the  students,  reverent  and  interested,  would  crowd 
around  him.  On  the  ingenuous  and  finely  sympathetic 
nature  of  one  of  these,  James  Melville,  these  visits  made 
an  impression  so  vivid  that  years  afterwards  he  could 
recall  them  in  detail.     "  He  would  call  us  scholars  unto 


212  JOHN  KNOX 

him,  bless  us  and  exhort  us  to  know  God  and  His  will 
in  our  country  and  stand  by  the  good  cause,  to  use  our 
time  well  and  learn  the  good  instructions  and  follow 
the  good  example  of  our  masters."  Melville  and  his 
fellow-students  used  to  bring  pens  and  ink-horns  and 
little  books  with  them  to  church  to  take  down  the 
sermon.  Knox  was  so  frail  that  he  had  to  be  lifted 
into  the  pulpit,  and  "  behoved  to  lean  at  his  first  entry ; 
but  ere  he  had  done  with  his  sermon  he  was  so  active 
and  vigorous  that  he  was  like  to  ding  the  pulpit  in 
blads  (knock  the  pulpit  to  pieces)  and  fly  out  of  it."  He 
preached  all  that  winter  from  the  Book  of  Daniel,  apply- 
ing the  prophecies  so  plainly  and  particularly  to  current 
events  in  ^Scotland  that  pens  and  ink-horns  were  laid 
aside,  and  men  feared  and  trembled  as  they  listened. 
Once,  as  if  he  were  seeing  a  vision,  he  described  the 
vengeance  that  should  overtake  his  enemies  "  when 
Edinburgh  Castle  should  run  like  sand  in  a  glass,  and 
the  Captain  should  come,  with  shame,  over  the  wall 
on  a  ladder."  The  parish-minister,  a  certain  Robert 
Hamilton,  sat  in  the  congregation,  irritated  and  sceptical ; 
from  the  pulpit  Knox  addressed  him  :  "  Thou,  that  will 
not  believe  my  warrant,'shalt  see  it  with  thine  eyes  that 
day."  "  Many,"  adds  Melville,  "  were  offended  at  this 
particularity,  and  called  it  rash  railing."  Not  one  whit 
was  Knox's  '*  particularity  "  mitigated  when  he  preached 
before  the  all-powerful  Morton,  who,  in  January  1572, 
came  over  in  person  to  overawe  the  Church  at  St. 
Andrews  and  see  his  nominee,  John  Douglas,  installed 
as  Archbishop.  Hitherto  Knox  had  spoken  but  sparingly 
against  the  appointment,  "  because  he  loved  the  man," 
and,  feeling  the  weight  of  his  own  years,  had  chiefly  pity 
for  another  old  man  eagerly  accepting  a  charge,  "  which 


ST.  ANDREWS  213 

twenty  of  the  best  gifts  could  not  bear."  But  face  to 
face  with  Morton  he  vehemently  denounced  "  anathema 
to  the  giver,  anathema  to  the  receiver."  His  age  and 
the  superstitious  reverence  in  which  he  was  held  enabled 
him  to  speak  out  with  impunity — but  without  effect. 
The  Lords  had  threatened  to  desert  the  Church  if  they 
got  not  the  Church  livings,  so  the  Ministers  of  Fife  saw 
themselves  constrained  to  yield  to  Morton  and  solemnly 
installed  the  new  Bishop. 

It  came  to  Knox's  ears  that  his  enemies  went  about 
insinuating  that  his  opposition  sprung  from  chagrin  that 
the  bishopric  had  not  been  offered  to  himself.  It  was 
not  in  his  choleric,  sensitive  nature  to  ignore  unworthy 
slanders ;  he  vindicated  himself  proudly  from  the  pulpit 
in  the  presence  of  all  the  dignitaries  of  Church  and 
University.  "  I  have  refused  a  greater  bishopric  than 
ever  it  was  which  I  might  have  had  with  the  favour  of 
greater  men  than  he  hath  his." 

Knox  had  many  enemies  overt  or  hidden  in  the  little 
town  who  not  daring,  for  the  reverence  in  which  he  was 
held,  to  attack  him  directly,  spread  false  reports  about 
him.  The  story  that  he  had  conspired  with  Moray  to 
make  away  with  Darnley  before  his  marriage  with  Mary, 
could  be  met  with  the  stern  demand  that  proof  should 
be  produced;  it  was  far  more  difficult  to  meet  vague 
and  ugly  rumours  with  regard  to  his  domestic  life. 
Malignant  and  irresponsible  tongues  had  got  hold  of  his 
close  and  peculiar  friendship  for  his  mother-in-law,  Mrs, 
Bowes,  and  had  twisted  them  to  their  own  vile  purposes. 
The  poor,  innocent  cause  of  the  scandal  was  dead  and 
Knox  felt  it  due  to  himself  to  declare  to  the  world  that 
the  grounds  of  their  friendship  had  been  neither  "  flesh 
nor  blood,  but  her  troubled  conscience  which  could  find 


214  JOHN  KNOX 

rest  in  the  society  of  the  faithful,  of  whom  she  judged 
me  to  be  one."  A  finer  reticence,  a  more  chivalrous 
tenderness  for  the  dead  would  have  omitted  the  further 
explanation.  "  Her  company  to  me  was  comfortable 
(yea,  honourable  and  profitable,  for  she  was  to  me  and 
mine  a  mother),  but  yet,  it  was  not  without  some  cross ; 
for,  besides  trouble  and  faschery  of  body  sustained  for  her, 
my  mind  was  seldom  quiet  for  doing  somewhat  for  the 
comfort  of  her  troubled  conscience."  These  wearisome 
scandals  were  raked  up  after  Knox's  death,  and  repeated 
again  and  again  with  odious  and  monstrous  additions  by 
one  Catholic  writer  after  the  other.  Incredible  and 
absurd  as  such  stories  are,  there  is  an  ironical  justice  in 
the  fact  that  he,  who  was  himself  so  greedy  and  credulous 
of  scandals,  should  have  become,  in  his  turn,  the  prey  of 
scandal-mongers. 

One  chief  authority  for  these  slanders  was  a  certain 
Archibald  Hamilton,  whose  enmity  to  Knox  dated  from 
this  winter  (1572)  in  St,  Andrews.  Society  in  Scotland 
was  still  so  feudal  that  a  man's  surname  generally 
dictated  his  religious  and  political  convictions.  There 
were  among  the  members  of  the  Colleges  of  St.  Salvator 
and  St.  Mary  several  Hamiltons  who  chafed  angrily  at 
Knox's  constant  denunciations  of  their  kinsfolk  for 
murder.  Archibald  Hamilton,  having  on  this  account 
absented  himself  from  the  sermon,  was  summoned  by 
the  Bishop  and  Superintendent  of  Fife  before  a  Synod 
held  in  Knox's  bed-chamber.  He  held  his  ground,  and 
in  his  turn  accused  Knox  of  preaching  in  the  pulpit 
doctrines  he  could  not  defend  in  the  schools, — an  aca- 
demic aspect  of  the  matter  not  likely  to  commend  itself 
to  the  prophetic  spirit  of  Knox  !  His  resentment  of 
this  criticism  is  curiously  reflected   in  a  letter  to  the 


ST.  ANDREWS  215 

General  Assembly  which  met  at  Perth  in  August  1572 : 
"Above  all  things  preserve  the  Church  from  the 
bondage  of  the  Universities  .  .  .  subject  never  the  pulpit 
to  their  judgment ;  neither  ye  exempt  them  from 
your  jurisdiction." 

Two  episodes  in  this  visit  to  St.  Andrews  are 
singularly  obnoxious  to  modern  feeling. 

The  rationalizing  spirit  of  Protestantism  had  discarded 
the  mystical  adoration  of  the  Real  Presence  in  the 
Mass  ;  to  the  superstitious  belief  in  witchcraft  it  was,  at 
least,  as  much  in  bondage  as  the  teaching  of  the  older 
Church.  In  the  spring  of  1572  a  miserable  old  woman 
was  burnt  at  St,  Andrews.  The  Sunday  before  she 
had  been  dragged  to  church,  and  callous  with  wretched- 
ness and  hallucination,  was  held  up  opposite  the  pulpit 
whence  Knox  hurled  denunciations  at  her.  In  this 
scene  of  ignominy  and  ignorance  the  preacher  plays  a 
more  pitiable  part  than  his  victim.  The  age  was  in 
truth  incredibly  harsh  and  unimaginative.  When  the 
youths  of  St.  Leonard's  entertained  Knox  with  a 
dramatic  performance,  they  represented  the  fall  of  the 
Castle  of  Edinburgh,  and  burnt  Knox's  old  friend 
Grange  in  effigy. 

In  May  1572,  feeling  that  the  end  could  not  be 
far  off,  Knox  made  his  will.  First,  to  the  community 
at  large  he  left  a  testimony  of  his  mind  ;  to  the  Papists 
this  special  message  that  unless  they  repented,  the 
death  of  him  (their  faithful  admonisher)  would  be  the 
greatest  calamity  that  had  befallen  them ;  to  the 
faithful  this  vindication  of  his  work  amongst  them : 
"  None  I  have  corrupted ;  none  I  have  defrauded  ; 
merchandise  have  I  not  made  ...  of  the  glorious 
Evangel  of  Jesus  Christ."     The  testamentary  part  of 


216  JOHN  KNOX 

the  will  shows  that  Knox  had  that  practical  mastery  of 
his  private  economies,  without  which  no  man  can  have 
perfect  freedom  for  the  things  of  the  spirit.  The 
"debts  owing  to  the  dead"  amounted  to  £830  Scots 
( =  £166).  The  "  debts  owing  by  the  dead  =  none."  To 
his  sons,  Ebenezer  and  Nathaniel  (at  that  time  students 
at  Cambridge),  he  left,  as  a  precious  remembrance, 
"  that  same  benediction  that  their  dearest  mother, 
Marjorie  Bowes,  left  unto  them  .  .  .  that  God  would 
make  them  His  true  worshippers ;  whereto,  now  as  then, 
I  from  my  troubled  heart  say,  Amen."  Their  mother's 
fortune  of  a  hundred  marks  sterling  (  =  £66  13s.  M.), 
augmented  by  his  care  to  £500  Scots  (  =  £100),^  was  left 
to  these  two  sons,  also  certain  articles  of  plate,  among 
them  a  silver  goblet  with  J.  K.  M,  on  one  side,  and  on 
the  other  E.  B.  N. 

The  rest  of  his  property  was  left  to  his  wife,  Margaret 
Stuart  and  his  three  children,  Martha,  Margaret,  and 
Elizabeth  Knox;  including  the  debts  owing  to  him  it 
amounted  to  £1526  Scots  (  =  £305),  besides  furniture 
valued  at  £30  Scots  (  =  £6),  and  books  valued  at  £130 
Scots  (  =  £26).  The  people  of  Edinburgh  had  dealt 
liberally  with  their  minister.^  His  stipend,  which  had 
been  two  hundred  marks  Scots  (  =  £10  16s.  8d.)  to 
begin  with,  had  been  augmented  latterly  to  five  hundred 

^  Following  the  calculations  of  Mr.  Laing  (Knox's  Collected 
Wm'ks,  Vol.  VI.,  p.  Ixii),  £5  Scots  were,  at  this  time,  equal  to 
^1  sterling.  The  mark  Scots,  in  which  Knox's  salary  was  paid, 
was  two-thirds  of  £1  Scots.  Mrs.  Knox's  dowry  was  paid  in 
marks  sterling,  equal  to  13s.  4d, 

2  According  to  the  standard  of  his  age  and  country,  Knox's 
stipend  was  liberal.  The  Principal  of  St.  Leonard's  College,  St. 
Andrews,  at  the  same  date  had  a  salary  of  J 10  Scots, 


ST.  ANDREWS  217 

marks  Scots  (  =  £27  Is.  8d.).  Relying  on  their  tried 
generosity,  he  simply  nominates  **  the  faithful  to  be 
oversmen "  (trustees).  They  fulfilled  the  trust.  The 
Town  Council  of  Edinburgh  granted  the  enjoyment  of 
his  stipend  to  his  wife  and  children  for  two  years  after 
his  death. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE   END. 

Meanwhile  all  Scotland,  and  especially  the  capital, 
was  plunged  in  the  horrors  of  a  factious  and  merciless 
civil  war.  There  was  a  growing  exasperation  in  the 
country  against  Maitland  and  Grange  as  the  cause  of 
all  the  misery.  These  men  had  their  backs  to  the  wall, 
and  were  obstinately  holding  out  in  what  they  must 
have  known  to  be  a  hopeless  cause.  Up  to  the  begin- 
ning of  1572,  the  Secretary,  confident  in  his  knowledge 
of  Elizabeth's  character,  had  expected  that  she  would 
eventually  restore  Mary  to  her  kingdom.  The  discovery, 
in  the  autumn  of  ]  571,  of  the  Norfolk  conspiracy  and 
Mary's  complicity  in  it,  made  such  a  policy  on  Eliza- 
beth's part  for  ever  impossible :  in  Scotland  the  Queen's 
party  had  been  weakened  by  the  defection  of  the 
Protestant  Lords,  Argyle,  Cassilis,  and  Boyd.  The  one 
hope  of  the  Queen's  friends  lay  in  foreign  intervention ; 
they  wasted  time  and  kept  their  party  alive  in  the 
expectation  that  any  day  might  see  French  troops 
landed  at  Leith,  or  Alva  heading  a  Spanish  invasion. 
French  money  and  French  arms  were  secretly  conveyed 
into  the  Castle ;  at  the  same  time  an  active  correspond- 
ence was  carried  on  with  the  Spanish  Government  at 


THE  END  219 

Brussels  by  means  of  Mary's  faithful  friend,  Lord  Seton. 
Knox  had  grounds  for  denouncing  the  "treasonable 
doings  of  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh,"  when  Lethington, 
the  enlightened  patriot  and  firm  friend  of  England,  was 
inviting  a  Spanish  invasion,  and  Grange,  the  champion 
of  Protestantism,  was  the  ally  of  Alva ! 

But  if  these  men  were  desperate,  if  Lethington 
especially  was,  as  Randolph  describes  him,  "  unmindful 
of  God  and  unnatural  to  his  country"  (March  7,  1572), 
it  was  because  the  opposite  side  had  made  reconciliation 
impossible.  Knox  and  the  other  preachers  with  their 
prophecies  and  solemn  denunciations  had  so  inflamed 
the  superstitious  imagination  of  the  people  that  nothing 
short  of  the  destruction  of  Grange  and  Lethington 
would  appease  their  rage.  Moreover,  Morton  was  the 
real  head  of  the  King's  party,  and  Morton  was  as  cruel 
as  he  was  greedy.  To  a  man  of  his  churlish  nature  it 
was  no  claim  that  in  the  old  days  Lethington  had  done 
him  such  substantial  kindness  that  he  (Morton)  had 
declared  in  jest  that  the  record  of  it  should  be  laid  up 
in  his  charter  chest.  On  the  contrary,  the  memory  of 
obligations  probably  made  him  more  willing  to  destroy 
his  former  friend.  All  through  the  winter  and  spring 
of  1572'  the  weary  siege  went  on,  while  famine  made 
a  desert  of  Edinburgh  and  of  all  the  country  for  miles 
round.  It  was,  as  Lord  Hunsdon,  the  English  envoy, 
described  it,  "  a  pleasant  and  profitable  time  for  mur- 
derers, thieves,  and  such  as  live  only  by  the  spoils  of 
true  men."  The  substantial  citizens  of  Edinburgh, 
men  of  Knox's  congregation,  had  been  forced  to  leave 
their  houses  in  the  city  and  had  taken  refuge  with  the 
Regent  and  his  troops  at  Leith.  In  the  skirmishes 
with  the  Castle  garrison,  they  fought  more  constantly 


220  JOHN   KNOX 

tlian  the  hired  soldiers.  In  the  end  of  July,  thanks 
to  the  good  offices  of  the  English  and  French  ambas- 
sadors, a  two  months'  armistice  was  arranged  between 
the  garrison  and  the  army  at  Leith.  On  the  even- 
ing of  the  first  day  the  exiled  citizens  marched  in  at 
the  gates  in  a  compact  body.  At  their  head  walked 
one  minister  with  his  Bible  under  his  arm,  another 
minister  brought  up  the  rear  in  full  armour  and  with 
his  "caliver  on  his  shoulder."  It  was  an  accidental 
but  curiously  apt  type  of  the  Church  of  Scotland. 
Many  of  these  burgesses  found  their  dwellings  wrecked, 
the  woodwork  torn  down  and  carried  off  for  fuel.  They 
had  their  houses  to  re-build,  their  trades  to  re-establish, 
but  there  was  a  more  urgent  duty  which  had  first  to 
be  discharged.  On  July  2,  they  drew  up  a  bond, 
obliging  themselves  not  only  to  defend  Christ's  cause 
and  the  common  interest,  but  to  submit  their  lives  and 
conversation  to  the  discipline  of  the  Church.  In  this 
mood  of  stern  enthusiasm  they  were  dissatisfied  with 
the  ministrations  of  John  Craig.  He  had  remained  in 
Edinburgh  during  the  siege,  not  unsuspected  by  the 
godly  of  having  lent  a  too  willing  ear  to  "  Machiavelli's  " 
silver  tongue.  On  August  4,  his  old  congregation  wrote 
to  Knox  craving  "  that  once  again  his  voice  might  be 
heard  amongst  them."  "  Loth  we  are  to  disease  or 
hurt  your  person  in  any  way,"  they  wrote,  "but  far 
lother  to  want  you."  Weak  as  he  was,  it  was  not 
"inability  of  the  body"  that  made  Knox  hesitate  to 
accept  this  invitation.  He  knew  the  hollo wness  of  the 
present  peace,  and  feared  lest  the  vengeance  of  "the 
Castilians  "  might  fall  later  upon  those  who  had  associ- 
ated themselves  with  him.  Yet  for  no  prudent  con- 
sideration would  he  consent  "  to  temper  his  tongue." 


THE  END  221 

His  congregation  recognized  the  danger  but  thought  it 
not  too  high  a  price  to  pay  for  his  presence  amongst 
them. 

On  August  17  (1572),  Knox  left  St.  Andrews—"  to 
the  dolour  of  the  few  godly,  but  to  the  great  joy  and 
pleasure  of  the  rest " — and,  travelling  by  slow  stages, 
reached  Edinburgh  in  the  last  week  of  August.  On 
the  following  Sunday  he  preached  to  a  vast  throng  in 
St.  Giles'.  His  voice,  never  strong  enough  to  fill  the 
building,  could  scarcely  be  heard.  He  desired  to  go  on 
preaching  if  only  to  a  hundred  persons,  and  so  long  as 
his  strength  allowed  he  held  services  in  the  Tolbooth. 
He  had  often  prayed  that  he  might  end  his  ministry 
in  expounding  Christ's  Passion,  and,  indeed,  the  last 
sermon  he  preached  was  on  the  Death  on  the  Cross. 

His  main  anxiety  was  that  a  faithful  minister  might 
be  appointed  in  his  place.  The  choice  of  the  congrega- 
tion fell  on  Mr.  Lawson,  sub-principal  of  Aberdeen  and 
a  learned  Hebraist.  In  a  singularly  courteous  note  the 
old  man  wrote  begging  the  younger  one  to  come  and 
visit  him  "  that  they  might  confer  together  of  heavenly 
things."  There  is  an  urgent  postscript  to  the  letter — 
"  Haste,  lest  ye  come  too  late." 

Before  he  laid  down  his  work  Knox  had  a  last 
prophetic  message  to  deliver.  As  the  Hebrew  prophets 
pronounced  oracles  against  Tyre,  Babylon  and  Egypt, 
in  like  fashion  did  Knox  watch  God's  judgments  in  the 
history  of  Europe.  In  the  early  days  of  September 
1572,  news  of  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew  reached 
Scotland.  Knox  was  appalled  by  the  sufferings  and 
danger  of  his  brethren  in  Christ,  but  he  felt  also  that 
the  Church  of  Rome  had  justified  the  harshest  things 
he  had  ever  said  of  her.     From  the  pulpit  he  bade  the 


222  JOHN  KNOX 

French  ambassador  tell  his  master  "  that  the  sentence 
is  pronounced  in  Scotland  against  that  murderer  the 
King  of  France,  that  God's  vengeance  shall  never  depart 
from  him  nor  his  house  .  .  .  and  that  none  that  shall 
come  of  his  loins  shall  enjoy  that  kingdom  in  peace 
and  quietness,  unless  repentance  prevent  God's  judg- 
ment," The  ambassador  angrily  desired  the  Regent 
and  Council  to  silence  the  pulpits.  They  answered 
frankly  that  they  could  not  stop  the  Ministers  from 
railing  against  themselves. 

On  Sunday,  November  9,  Knox  inducted  Mr.  Lawson 
in  St.  Giles'.  He  had  already  preached  that  morning 
in  the  Tolbooth  and  his  voice  was  weak.  A  hushed 
and  awestruck  crowd  saiu  but  scarcely  heard  him  re- 
hearse the  simple  service  of  admitting  the  new  pastor, 
and  for  the  last  time  pronounce  the  final  benediction. 
He  crept  back  exhausted  to  his  house  in  the  Netherbow, 
never  again  to  cross  its  threshold. 

On  Tuesday,  the  11th,  he  was  attacked  by  a  harsh 
cough  and  feeling  the  end  draw  near  he  began  to  set  his 
house  in  order.  He  paid  his  servants  their  wages,  and 
added  more  than  was  actually  due,  saying  he  would 
never  give  them  another  fee.  His  mind  seems  to  have 
wandered  slightly.  Mistaking  the  days  of  the  week, 
he  rose  on  Friday  and  prepared  for  his  Sunday  sermon. 
All  night  he  had  been  meditating  on  the  Resurrection 
of  Christ  and  desired  to  complete  his  course  of  sermons 
on  the  Passion.  He  was  constantly  rapt  in  meditation. 
At  intervals  his  wife  and  Richard  Bannatyne  read  aloud 
to  him,  sometimes  Calvin's  sermons,  but  chiefly  the 
Gospel  of  John  and  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians.  But, 
even  in  this  last  hour,  "  the  world  with  its  faschery  " 
could  not  be  excluded.     As  he  said  of  himself,  "  John 


THE  END  223 

Knox  remains  the  same  man  now  going  to  die  that  he 
has  been  before  when  he  was  able  of  body  " — as  constant 
to  his  animosities  as  to  his  faith. 

Up  in  the  Castle  his  old  adversary  Lethington  lay 
also  dying.  His  feet  were  paralyzed,  his  whole  person 
so  frail  that  he  could  not  endure  to  sneeze  *'  for  annoy- 
ing the  whole  body."  His  nerves  and  courage  were 
shaken.  He  knew  that  the  old  accusation  of  complicity 
in  the  King's  murder  would  be  brought  up  against  him, 
and  would  exclude  him  from  pardon.  Drury  and 
Randolph  who  saw  him  in  the  previous  winter  (1572) 
describe  him  as  "  so  full  of  fear  and  doubt  for  himself, 
that  if  that  were  provided  for  "  they  did  not  doubt  but 
that  other  matters  could  be  arranged.  All  his  life 
Lethington  had  been  a  wit  and  had  mocked  the 
Ministers  and  their  pretensions,  and  they  had  retaliated 
by  accusations  of  atheism  and  irreligion.  He  had  often 
before  disregarded  their  railing,  but  now,  with  the 
sobering  shadow  of  death  upon  him,  he  refused  to  lie 
under  the  opprobrium  of  being  as  the  fool  "  who  saith 
in  his  heart,  '  there  is  no  God.' "  Two  days  after  Knox 
fell  ill  of  his  last  illness,  the  Secretary  wrote  to  the 
Session  of  Edinburgh  complaining  that  their  minister 
had  accused  him  of  saying  that  "  there  is  neither  Heaven 
nor  Hell,"  and  that  "  they  are  things  to  frighten  bairns 
with."  There  is  a  flash  of  the  old  irony  in  Lethington's 
final  demand  that  if  Knox  failed  to  name  his  authorities, 
"  at  least  hereafter  ye  receive  not  every  word  proceeding 
from  his  mouth  as  an  oracle." 

On  Monda}'^,  November  17,  by  his  own  desire  the 
Session  assembled  in  Knox's  sick  room.  He  began  by 
justifying  his  work  in  the  ministry  with  all  his  old 
force  and  nobility  of  phrase,  then  passed  to  the  con- 


224  JOHN  KNOX 

sideration  of  Lethington's  letter.  His  refusal  to  name 
his  authorities  was  only  honourable  and  prudent  in  a 
time  when  vengeance  was  quick  and  animosities  bitter ; 
his  evasion  of  the  direct  issue  was  almost  audacious  in 
its  want  of  candour.  "  He  desired  all  men  to  consider 
their  works,  especially  the  ruin  of  Edinburgh  and  the 
troubling  of  this  quiet  Commonwealth  and  the  Church 
of  God  within  the  same :  which  were  a  sufficient 
declaration  that  he  (the  Secretary)  denied  there  was 
any  God  to  punish  such  wickedness,  or  yet  any  Heaven 
or  Hell  wherein  virtue  should  be  rewarded  and  vice 
punished." 

Knox  regarded  Grange  as  a  mere  tool  in  the  hands 
of  Lethington  and  he  was  full  of  concern  for  his  old 
friend.  One  day  when  a  minister,  Mr.  David  Lindsay, 
went  in  to  see  him,  Knox  greeted  him  eagerly :  "  All 
this  day  I  have  desired  to  have  you,  that  I  might  yet 
send  you  to  yon  man  in  the  Castle  whom  you  know  I 
have  loved  so  dearly  .  .  .  Bid  him  in  the  Name  of  God 
leave  that  evil  cause  and  give  over  the  Castle ;  if  not 
he  shall  be  brought  down  over  the  walls  of  it  with 
shame  and  hung  against  the  sun.  So  God  has  assured 
me."  Mr.  Lindsay,  though  he  thought  "  the  threaten- 
ing over  particular,"  delivered  the  message  to  the 
Captain,  who  at  first  seemed  somewhat  moved  by  it, 
but  after  he  had  conferred  with  the  Secretary,  came  out 
again  and  bade  Mr.  Lindsay  "  tell  Mr.  Knox  that  he 
was  but  a  '  drytting '  (drivelling)  prophet."  When  this 
was  reported  to  Knox,  he  answered :  "  Well,  I  have 
been  earnest  with  my  God  anent  these  two  men ;  for 
the  one,  I  am  sorry  that  so  should  befall  him,  yet  God 
assures  me  there  is  mercy  for  his  soul ;  for  that  other 
I  have  no  warrant  that  ever  he  shall  be  well."     Several 


THE  END  225 

months  later,  when  English  cannons  had  indeed  made 
the  "Castle  Rock  to  run  like  sand,"  and  when  the 
Captain  had  been  condemned  to  death,  that  the  prophecy 
of  John  Knox  might  be  fulfilled,  Mr.  Lindsay  reported 
these  words  to  Grange  the  day  before  he  was  to  suffer : 
"  The  which  he  would  have  repeated  over  again  to 
him ;  and  thereupon  was  greatly  comforted  and  became 
of  good  and  cheerful  courage." 

Before  he  took  his  last  "good-night  of  the  world," 
Knox  was  once  more  to  touch  the  public  life. 

The  Earl  of  Mar  had  died  in  the  end  of  October  and 
the  Regency  was  perforce  offered  to  Morton.  Some- 
where in  his  hard  and  worldly  nature  was  a  spot  sus- 
ceptible to  religious  impressions,  and  despite,  or  perhaps 
by  virtue  of  unsparing  plain  speaking,  Knox  had  won 
and  retained  his  deference.  Just  before  Morton  ac- 
cepted the  Regency,  he  came  to  take  farewell  of  the 
dying  preacher.  They  met  in  the  sick-chamber,  no 
one  else  being  present.  With  all  the  old  directness 
Knox  asked  him  first,  "If  he  knew  anything  of  the 
King's  murder  ? "  Being  satisfied  on  this  point,  he 
charged  Morton  solemnly  "  to  use  all  his  benefits  aright, 
and  better  in  times  to  come  than  ye  have  done  in  times 
past." 

These  November  days  in  the  house  in  the  Netherbow 
are  like  the  last  scene  of  the  Pilgrims  Progress,  where 
a  great  concourse  of  pilgrims  accompany  Mr.  Valiant- 
for-Truth  to  the  river  side.  Men  came  and  went  in 
Knox's  sick-chamber ;  devout  ladies,  tried  Protestants 
like  Glencairn  and  Ruthven,  old  friends  like  the  Laird 
of  Braid  and  Campbell  of  Kinyeancleuch,  to  whose  care 
he  confided  his  wife  and  little  daughters.  As  long  as 
his  strength  allowed,  Knox  sat  at  table  with  his  guests 

Q 


226  JOHN  KNOX 

and  courteously  entertained  them.  On  Saturday  (15th) 
two  of  his  acquaintances  were  at  supper  with  him ;  he 
bade  his  servant  pierce  a  hogshead  of  claret  and  desired 
one  of  them  to  send  for  some  of  the  wine,  for  he  himself 
would  not  live  to  drink  it.  Up  to  the  last  he  recognized 
his  friends  and  said  special  words  of  farewell  to  each, 
but  he  was  constantly  rapt  in  the  inner  vision.  Once, 
repeating  "  Our  Father  which  art  in  Heaven,"  the 
solemn  beauty  of  the  familiar  words  struck  him  with 
sudden  awe.  He  interrupted  himself,  saying,  "  Who  can 
pronounce  so  holy  words  ? " 

On  Monday,  November  24,  the  end  came.  "  A  little 
after  noon  he  caused  his  wife  to  read  the  15th  chapter 
of  I.  Corinthians,  of  the  Resurrection ;  to  whom  he  said  : 
'  Is  not  that  a  comfortable  chapter  ? '  .  .  .  Thereafter, 
about  five  hours,  he  says  to  his  wife,  '  Go,  read  where  I 
cast  my  first  anchor,'  and  so  she  read  the  I7th  of 
John's  Evangel.  .  .  We,  thinking  that  he  was  asleep, 
demanded  if  he  heard  ?  Answered, '  I  hear,  and  under- 
stand far  better,  I  praise  God.' "  In  that  day  men 
believed  that  the  powers  of  darkness  were  strong  in 
the  last  hour,  and  it  was  held  that  dying  saints  owed 
it  to  the  Church  to  bear  triumphant  witness  to  their 
faith.  At  ten  o'clock  the  brethren  watching  round 
Knox's  bed  in  prayer  saw  the  change  come.  "  Sir," 
said  Richard  Bannatyne,  "  the  time  that  ye  have  long 
called  to  God  for,  to  wit,  an  end  to  your  battle,  is 
come  !  And  seeing  all  natural  power  now  fails,  re- 
member upon  these  comfortable  promises,  which  often- 
times ye  have  shown  to  us  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ, 
and  that  we  may  understand  that  ye  hear  us,  make 
us  some  sign."  "And  so  he  lifted  up  his  one  hand, 
and   incontinent   thereafter   rendered    the   spirit,   and 


THE   END  227 

slept  away  without  any  pain,  about  eleven  hours  at 
even  ! " 

On  the  Wednesday  following  he  was  buried  in  the 
shadow  of  St.  Giles'.  The  Regent  Morton,  standing 
beside  the  grave,  "  gave  him  an  honourable  testimony, 
that  he  neither  feared  nor  flattered  any  flesh." 

Among  the  prophetic  utterances  of  Knox  is  one  which 
time  itself  has  been  busy  fulfilling  for  good  and  evil 
during  the  last  three  centuries.  "  What  I  have  been 
to  my  country,  albeit  this  ungrateful  age  will  not  know, 
yet  the  ages  to  come  will  be  compelled  to  bear  witness 
to  the  truth."  To  comment  adequately  on  this 
prophecy  would  be  to  write  the  history  of  Scotland, 
political,  social,  and  religious,  from  the  time  of  Knox 
to  our  own  day. 


THE   END. 


Richard  Clay  &.  Sons,  Limited, 
London  &  Bunoay. 


Princeton  Theoloqical  Seminai^  Libraries 


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